


Nine Lives

by IvanW



Series: Star Trek Fairy-tales [5]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cats, Fairy Tale Elements, First Time, From Childhood to Adult, M/M, Post-Tarsus, Romance, Spells & Enchantments, Spock is a Cat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-30 19:45:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14504184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvanW/pseuds/IvanW
Summary: Once Upon a Time:When Jim is thirteen and newly rescued from Tarsus, he gains a mysterious cat whose name is Spock and who only eats vegetables. This cat becomes his lifelong friend and even accompanies Jim when, as a young man, he joins  Starfleet.Until...a kiss changes everything





	1. Kitten

James Tiberius Kirk was bored. And hungry. Both were conditions Jim particularly hated.

He was on a space station waiting. And waiting. Jim had been told to wait in this particular area for his mother to collect him. That was hours ago. Jim guessed it had taken her longer to make it there than anyone had thought.

When first they’d told him to come sit in this garden and wait, they had given him a sandwich. He’d devoured it in less than a minute. He was still so hungry.

He flopped down on the bench and stared up at the faux sky. They’d made it to look the outdoors on Earth or something. They’d even programmed puffs of fake clouds here and there. Jim was largely unimpressed.  

“Mew.”

Jim frowned. The hunger was getting to him again and making him hallucinate like he had before. He could swear he’d just heard a cat.

The good news had been, when he’d talked to his mother via video chat when he’d first been rescued or taken off Tarsus IV, however you wanted to say it, she’d told him that Frank was gone. Out the door and good riddance. He would never need to see that asshole again. And sure, maybe Jim had fist pumped the air.

The bad news was that his mom still had no idea what had happened to Sam, his brother, and so it was going to be just the two of them when she brought Jim back to Riverside. She’d been crying when she told Jim she couldn’t locate his brother.

“Mew.”

He sighed and sat up, looking around. He expected to see absolutely nothing and so was, therefore, quite surprised when a little black kitten sat beside the bench looking at him.

“Oh. Hey. Are you fake too?”

The kitten cocked its head. Sure looked real enough. And damn the little thing was super cute too. Jim found himself smiling.

He bent down to pick it up and it—er—he—began to purr.

“Oh, my God, you are too cute.” The kitten rubbed against Jim’s face. “Who do you belong to, little guy?” The kitten whacked Jim’s cheeks with his paws. He laughed. “Me? I don’t think so. Looks like you have a little collar.”

Jim pulled the kitten back a little to read the tag. His little paws swatted in Jim’s direction. “Spock? That’s kind of a strange name for a cat. Hello Spock.”

Jim glanced toward the door that led back inside. “I’d better see who lost you.”

He took the kitten indoors and went up to the desk where the Federation lady was busy typing away on a computer.

“Excuse me.”

“Look, kid,” she said tiredly. “”I told you, your mom will get here when she gets here.”

“Right. I just want to know who this cat belongs to.”

“Cat?” She didn’t even look.

“A kitten. A little black kitten. Found him outside in the garden.”

“Uh huh.”

Jim sighed. There wasn’t really anyone else to ask around so he decided to take the kitten back outside to wait.

He’d been sitting on the ground playing with the little ball of fur when finally the door opened.

“Jimmy? Honey?”

“Here, Mom.” Jim stood up and she ran at him.

“Oh my poor baby,” she said, immediately beginning to cry.

“Mom, stop squishing me.”

She loosened her hold just a little. She stared at him, her blue eyes, so like his, assessing him. “God, you’re so skinny. Have they fed you anything?”

“Pancakes when they first brought me here yesterday and a sandwich this morning.”

“You’re going to be eating morning, noon and night when we get you back to Riverside,” she vowed. “I’m not going out again, Jimmy. I resigned.”

He nodded. “So no more Franks?”

“Definitely not. If that bastard was in front of me right now I’d kill him. Sending my son away without my permission.” She took a deep breath and then released it. “We don’t head back until tonight, so first thing is we’re going to a restaurant and you can order anything you want.”

“Mew.”

His mom looked down and noticed the kitten. “Who is this?”

“Spock, Mom,” Jim replied. “Um. He’s-he’s mine. I found him. Can I keep him? Can we take him home with us? Please?”

For a long time she just stared at the kitten but then she switched her gaze to Jim. Okay, so maybe he was manipulating her just a little by making sure his eyes were a little watery looking. It helped to be able to cry on cue.

“Well—”

“Please, Mommy?” Okay, that was laying it way thick, but Jim was pretty sure he had her.

“All right, but we have to get a carrier for him if he’s going to travel with us.”

Jim nodded eagerly. “We can get one on the way to the restaurant.”

****

“Mom, he doesn’t seem to like meat,” Jim said, as Spock ignored the bit of chicken he thrust through the holes of the carrier.

“Or chicken anyway. We can try fish or something later. I’ve never known a cat who wouldn’t eat meat. Eat your chicken fingers, honey.”

Jim dipped a strip into barbecue sauce.

“You know, when we get home, well, they want me to take you to see someone.”

Jim paused the strip just below his lips. “See someone?”

She stabbed at her salad. “A doctor.”

Jim groaned.

“Jimmy. The trauma you just went through, it’s a good idea.”

“I don’t want to see anyone.”

“You’re going to,” she said. “You’re lucky they allowed me to come get you. Some of the others they locked up in an institution.”

Jim knew that and he hated it. His stomach churned but he took a bite of the chicken anyway.   

“Some of them were really messed up, Jimmy.”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

“Considering that and that I let you keep that kitten, I think you can talk to a doctor a few times, don’t you?” She eyed him, seriously, but with a lot of sympathy.

“Okay, Mom.” Jim tore off a piece of lettuce from his mom’s salad and stuck it through the carrier hole. Spock opened his mouth and started munching on it. “Mom! He likes salad!”

She laughed. “I think I’ve seen everything now. Never saw a cat who eats lettuce before.”

“Right! He’s so cool. Spock, you and I have to stick together from now on.”

“Hey, stop taking my salad,” his mom admonished.

“Well, maybe we can order one for him.”

“Jimmy.” She shook her head, but she was smiling. “Okay. Go ahead.”

Jim gestured to the waitress and ordered Spock a salad, without dressing, because he couldn’t imagine the cat would want that.

Okay, so he would have to talk to a shrink or whatever, but he was going home, his mom was staying, Frank was gone, and he had a new best friend.

 _Sweet_!

 


	2. Home

Jim settled the cat carrier on the seat next to him and adjusted the soft pretzel he held in his hand that Mom had insisted on buying him before they’d boarded the ship that would take them back to Earth and eventually Riverside. They’d have to connect through San Francisco first, but Jim didn’t mind.

He tore off and dipped a piece of the pretzel in melted cheese, stuffing it into his mouth. At the moment Mom was talking to a nurse who was on the same shuttle. She’d seen a lot of the survivors from Tarsus and so Mom was quizzing her. They sat several seats away from Jim, which was fine with him. He didn’t really want to hear most of it. The details kind of freaked him out a little. It was bad enough he could still hear the voice of Kodos in his head.

Spock scratched at the carrier.

Jim glanced over and saw his paw was raised. “What? You want some pretzel?” He laughed. “You are the weirdest cat.”

He tore off a tiny piece of pretzel out to the kitten and was amazed when the little guy took it into his mouth and began to chew it.

“You are just the cutest thing,” Jim said with no little delight. He dipped a little in cheese and held it out to the kitten but Spock did not take that one. “No? Didn’t like it? Or don’t like cheese?’ He gave the kitten a piece without cheese and he ate that.

Jim laughed and continued to share the rest of his pretzel until it was gone. Then he picked up the PADD his mother had brought him. She’d told him it had no news or Federation stuff on it because she didn’t think he should see any of that right now. It was strictly for playing preloaded games.

He was halfway some battle where he phasered aliens when she came over and handed him a cup.

“Tea,” she said.

“I’d rather have coffee.”

“I’d rather be the Queen of Sheba. You’re getting tea.” She took the seat next to him. “Did I actually see you feeding that cat your pretzel?”

“Only some of it.”

“Jim, you need to eat.”

“He’s hungry too.” Jim took a sip of the tea and made a face. “What is this?”

“Matcha green tea.”

“Figures. Did you get this from the nurse?”

“How’d you guess?” She smiled and smoothed down his hair with her hand. “She treated a number of the survivors.”

“I know. She talked to me some when I first got to the space station.”

“She told me. She thinks you’re pretty remarkable, Jim.”

He felt his cheeks heat and he looked away. His game still ran and he could tell by the sounds that the aliens were whipping his ass. “”No, I’m not.” He drank more tea even though it tasted like grass or something.

“When we get home we’ll have to get dishes and food and a litter box for Spock. You’re going to have to clean up after him.”

“I know.” Jim looked back at her. “I will. I want to. I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

She petted his head. “You want something else to eat?”

“I’m good for now.”

“We can get him a bed too.”

Jim glanced at Spock, who had now curled up into a ball with his eyes closed. “He can sleep with me.”

“Sure, he can. But we should probably get him his own bed too. Cats like having their own space. And a scratching post. Or two or three.” Mom laughed.

“Did you have cats when you were a kid?”

“Yeah I did. Mostly barn cats but house ones too. And dogs. We always had pets around.” She sighed wistfully. “We should have let you and Sam have pets.”

“Frank would have thrown a fit.”

“If I had Frank here I’d---”

“Kill him. I know.”

“No. But I’d stick my foot up his ass.” Then she laughed but it was without much humor. “I can’t believe how much I hate him.”

Jim shrugged. “He fooled you into thinking he was a good guy. But he wasn’t.”

“He definitely wasn’t. He cost me Sam and he almost cost me you.”

“Maybe we’ll find Sam again someday,” Jim said doubtfully. He yawned and put the game PADD down. “I’m going to try to sleep if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s definitely okay. You can use my shoulder as a pillow if you want.”

Jim nodded and yawned again, leaning against his mom.

****

“This one says vegetables and grains,” Jim read off the label of the kitten food in the pet store. “Wow, who knew there were vegetarian cats. I thought they were carnivores.”

“They are for the most part,” the pet store lady told him. “But there’s the rare cat whose stomach can’t handle this or that.” She pointed to the bag. “See, sensitive stomach.” She picked up the bag and carried it to the cash register where she had already put pet dishes, a bed, a litter box and litter, and some toys, including mice and fish. Jim wondered if Spock would even play with them considering they represented meat. So he added a few little flashing balls.

“This your first pet?”

“Yeah. The asshole—”

“Jim.”

“My mother’s ex-husband didn’t allow us to have them.”

The lady rang everything up and Mom handed her a credit chip.

The pet store lady looked at Spock resting in his carrier at Jim’s feet. “Where’d you find him?”

“He found me, actually.”

“He’s super cute. His ears are extra pointy.”

Jim smiled down at Spock.

They picked up all their stuff and the carrier and headed to the rental hover car. Mom had said she’d eventually get their own but for now, since moving back to the farmhouse had been unexpected for both of them, this would do.

She grabbed them hamburgers and fries on the way home.

“We’ll get food tomorrow at the store. I have to make sure all the replicators in the house work, too. Who knows what the asshole did?” She snorted at this. “But think about what you want at the store. Anything you want.”

“Mom, you’re going to make me fat.”

“Hardly. You’re still skin and bones.” She sniffed at this. Jim waited for her to mention something threatening toward Frank again but she did not.

When the farmhouse came into sight, Jim was relieved it just looked like an ordinary house. He felt nothing in particular about it. Frank was gone and that went a long way toward making the house okay.

“All the lights are on,” Jim remarked.

“I arranged that. Didn’t want us to come home to a dark house, you know? Heat should be on, too.”

She pulled up in front of the house and Jim got out with Spock and all of Spock’s things.

The house was warm and bright inside and the first thing Jim did was bend down and open the carrier so Spock could get out.

“There you go, buddy. Here’s your new home.”

Spock came out, reluctantly, putting one careful paw after another.

“He’ll get used to it,” Mom declared, watching him. “We all will.”

“Yeah.”

“And the nurse gave me the name of a doctor for you to talk to Jim.”

“Oh,” he said hollowly.

“We’ll have to go to Cedar Rapids to see him.”

“Cedar Rapids?” Jim protested. “That’s too far.”

“We might have to stay over nights on the days we go see him,” Mom replied.

“I don’t want to leave Spock alone.”

She sighed. “Jim.”

“Well.”

“Anyway, his name is Leonard McCoy. He comes highly recommended.”

“A shrink?”

“He has many specialties, psychology is only one of them.” She turned to the kitchen. “More tea?”

“Yeah. Okay. I’m going to go put Spock’s bed up in my room and stuff.”

“All right, but come down when you’re done. I'll keep the food warm.”

Jim ran up the stairs and down the well-lit hallway to his room, pushing open the door. It looked pretty much the same as when Frank sent him away for driving his stupid car over a cliff. A little musty smelling. He’d have to put clean sheets on the bed.

He felt the kitten rub against his legs and he looked down, realizing Spock had followed him up the stairs. His heart melted a little. He bent down and scooped Spock up in his arms.

“What do you say? Just you and me, right?” The kitten purred and purred. “And Mom too, of course.”

He set Spock down on the floor and then began to work to remove the old bedding. He could throw it in the wash while he had dinner and tea with Mom.  Spock jumped up on the bed, a little wobbly.

“Want to help, huh?” Jim chuckled as Spock stumbled on the uneven bedspread. “Something tells me I’d better do this on my own.” He scooped up Spock and put him in the cat bed. “You stay there until I’m finished.”

Less than five minutes later, with his arms full of sheets, blankets, and bedspreads, Jim made his way back down the stairs, Spock hurrying right behind him.

Jim thought maybe Spock liked him as much as he liked Spock.


	3. Constant Companions

Jim woke with a scream frozen in his throat, his heart pounding, and sweat beading his forehead.

The nightmare began to fade as dreams do but he hit the button on the table beside him to illuminate his room in light, chasing away the last frightening elements of his dream.

Spock lay on his chest staring intently at him.

Jim blew out a breath. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb you. Bad dream.”

The kitten cocked his head.

“Don’t really remember,” Jim muttered. He knew it was related to Tarsus IV because all his nightmares were. But it wasn’t a lie that he couldn’t quite bring up the details that haunted his sleep.

He turned his head toward his window, which he’d opened before going to bed, and the curtain blew in a slight breeze. It was still dark out, but Jim wasn’t sure he could go back to sleep.

He scooted Spock off him and flung back the covers, rising from the bed, and heading for the small bathroom attached to his room. It seemed even tinier now that he had placed Spock’s litter box there.

After he’d done so, he had picked up Spock and place the kitten in the box to give him the idea. Spock had refused to do his thing until Jim had given him privacy, walking out of the bathroom.

“You know,” Jim had said, “I’m the one who has to clean up after you anyway so what’s the big deal?”

Spock had just stared at him until Jim had gotten the idea to leave.

He really was the oddest cat.      

Jim peed and then washed his hands, returning to his bed. He couldn’t sleep so he decided he might as well play a game on the PADD his mom gave him. He propped his pillows up against the headboard and then himself up to the pillows. He’d just gotten to the second round of blasting aliens when Spock began to crawl up his chest.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

The kitten got to Jim’s shoulder and then laid down.

“Um, not sure you actually fit there,” Jim said, trying to look at the kitten but it was hard to turn his head when Spock was pretty much in the way. After a moment, he realized Spock had no intention of moving off him.

He sighed and went back to his game.

****

When Jim came down the next morning, Spock at his heels, he could hear his mom talking to someone.

“I think he’s doing pretty well all things considering.”

He was the subject of her conversation, Jim figured.

“Him finding that kitten was a godsend. They really seem to be bonding. I wouldn’t have even thought of getting him a pet. Not right now, but maybe in a few weeks.” She was making herself coffee and she turned to smile at him when he entered the kitchen. “Here he is now. Yeah, we’ll talk soon. Bye.” She put down her communicator. “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“Did I hear you up in the middle of the night last night?”

Jim nodded. “Dream.”

Her face fell. “I’m sorry. You should have come to me.”

“I’m a little old to come running to my mommy.” Jim went to sit at the dining room table. As soon as he sat down, Spock jumped up into his lap. Jim patted his head. “Who was that?”

“A friend from Starfleet.” She put a cup of green tea in front of him.

“Boyfriend?”

Mom laughed. “No. Just a friend at this point. Christopher Pike. You’d like him.”

Jim doubted it. “You said that about Frank.”

“Did I? I’m usually a better judge of character. Anyway, Chris Pike knew your dad back in the academy. He’s looking into finding Sam for us.”

“Yeah? Is he good at that sort of thing?”

“I think so. Listen, I haven’t had a chance to reprogram those replicators and we have nothing for breakfast. Why don’t we go out and then we’ll do the food shopping afterward.”

“Can Spock come?”

“Oh honey, I’m not sure any restaurant in Riverside is going to want a kitten there.”

“We can take him in the carrier. He won’t bother anyone.”  

Mom sighed. “Okay. But eventually Spock is going to have to learn to be alone sometimes. You can’t take him _everywhere_ , Jim.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Yes, I know. Because you’re a kid. But when you’re older you’ll get it. And honestly, most cats don’t like to leave their home. They’re very territorial.”

“Spock’s different,” Jim insisted. “He likes to be with me.”

She rolled her eyes but said nothing more about it.

****

“So, who is this?”

Jim eyed the doctor as he set Spock’s carrier down on the floor of the office. The doctor was younger than Jim expected. He’d expected some old fuddy duddy. But Leonard McCoy had to only be in his twenties. He looked a little grumpy but kind too.

“My cat Spock. He goes everywhere with me.”

The doctor crouched down beside the carrier. “Spock, huh? His ears are really pointy.”

Jim heard a low rumbling coming from Spock. “Whoa, whoa. He’s growling at you.”

“Animals usually love me,” Doctor McCoy insisted, straightening up.

Jim wandered around the office and stopped at what looked like a set of human bones just scattered around on a counter. “What are these?”

“Bones.”

“Well, yeah. But why are they just lying around?”

“They used to make up a skeleton,” McCoy said as he came over to where Jim stood. “But some kid very similar to you knocked it over and broke it. Now I’ve got nothing left but the bones.”

Jim eyed him with a smirk. “Some kid like me?”

“Hm. You aren’t the only one I’m seeing from Tarsus IV.”

“Yeah?”

Dr. McCoy nodded. “I have some experience with trauma patients. So the Federation asked me to talk to some of you. Temporary assignment.”

“You look pretty young.”

“I’m still a resident.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about talking to a _resident_ ,” Jim scoffed.

“So you’d rather talk to some old coot like Boyce?’

Jim had seen Dr. Boyce when he’d come into their shared office space. He’d looked even grumpier than this one. “Does he know you call him a coot?”

“Probably. He calls me a pain in the ass.”

Jim laughed. Okay, so maybe this guy wasn’t _so_ bad. He looked back at the loose bones on the counter. “Mind if I call you Bones?”

“Why would you call me that?”

“Suits you.”

“You’re definitely a smart mouthed kid.” Dr. McCoy looked back at the cat carrier. “Where’d you find that cat?”

“Space station. The one they brought me to after they got me off Tarsus. I tried to find out who he belonged to but no one seemed to know. He had a name tag with his name on it.”

“You probably stole someone’s cat. All right, have a seat.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“And I’d rather you sat. Go on. That chair’s really comfy.” The doctor pointed.

Jim sighed and took the chair. He sunk in and stuck his legs out far in front of him.

Dr. McCoy smiled. “Cozy, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah.”

“So as I understand it, your stepfather sent you to Tarsus IV for bad behavior.”

“Ex.”

“Ex-bad behavior?”

“Ex-stepfather.” Jim leaned across to where Spock’s carrier was and moved it closer to him. He smiled at the kitten. “Hey buddy.”

“You wrecked his car.”

Jim smiled. “Went off the cliff.”

“And that’s funny?”

“No. Well. At the time. He deserved it. He made Sam leave.”

“Your brother.”

“Uh-huh.” He opened the cage and reached in to take Spock out.

“Hey, maybe you should leave that cat in his cage.”

“He doesn’t like it,” Jim said as Spock crawled up his chest and then to his shoulder to lay down. McCoy’s nose twitched. “How are you an expert on trauma?”

“I was on Laraquos 12 with my dad. And I ask the questions here.”

“Laraquos 12? What’s that? That a planet?”

“Not anymore. It was destroyed.”

“Yeah? How? So you were there? What happened?”

Dr. McCoy grimaced. “We’re focusing on you, Jim.” His nose twitched again. He sniffed. “Tell me about how you felt when you were sent there.”

“Actually I felt pretty good. Anything to get away from him.”

McCoy sneezed. Then sneezed again.

“Hey, Bones, are you allergic to Spock?”

“Ya think?” McCoy began to sneeze rapidly over and over.

“Oops.” Jim picked Spock up off his shoulder and held him in front of his face. "You might have to wait outside next time, buddy." _If_ there was a next time. Jim hadn't decided. "Uh, we'll just get out of here, Doctor...Bones." Jim shoved Spock back into the carrier closed it and hurried out of the office to the waiting room where his mom waited. 

She stood. "That was quick. How'd it go?"

"Um. Well. I think Dr. McCoy likes me. But we'd probably better go." He heard another sneeze. "Now."

"Okay. But-"

Jim grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the waiting room and outside. He could still hear McCoy sneezing.


	4. A Proposal

“Mom’s going to kill you if she finds out you’re eating her radishes.”

Jim shook his head as he watched Spock dig up the vegetable garden his mother had planted soon after their arrival in Riverside. He sat stretched out on the dirt next to the garden as Spock played in the radishes. He was pretty sure the cat was noshing on them.

“Or maybe she’ll kill me. More likely.”

They’d fallen into something of a routine in the weeks since he, his mom, and Spock had arrived. Every two weeks they went to Cedar Rapids to see Dr. McCoy. Jim had fallen into the habit of calling him Bones and as long as Spock stayed out in the waiting room with Mom, Bones let him.

Mom had announced to him that starting tomorrow he would have to attend public school. Jim didn’t want to go but he couldn’t think of a way out of it either.

Spock abandoned his interest in the garden and traipsed over to where Jim sat. As he crawled up Jim’s torso he was purring.

“Hey there, fur face.” Jim smiled.

Spock got up next to Jim’s face, which wasn’t unusual. He often rubbed his face all over Jim’s cheeks. Jim had heard once that cats rubbed to mark their territory so he found Spock’s actions kind of funny.

But when Spock went toward Jim’s lips, Jim backed away. “Yuck! No. No.” He picked Spock up and put him back on the ground near the garden. He wagged his finger at the cat. “No! Not on the lips. That’s gross. Ugh. You lick your balls and your butt.”

Spock’s ears went back and his eyes narrowed. It was almost as though he understood what Jim was saying.

Jim laughed. “Well, you do! Don’t blame me for pointing it out to you. You should just be glad Mom hasn’t talked about having you fixed.”

Spock arched his back and pounced away.

Jim laughed again. “See! There are worse things.”

****

Spock waited anxiously for Jim to arrive home. He’d wanted to go with the human to school for he felt the anxiety pouring off his human as prepared to leave. Spock had been forbidden from attending school with Jim.

Jim’s mother was also not home. She’d had some errands to run and wouldn’t be home until that evening. Spock had the house to himself but he was not particularly happy about it even though it had allowed him some time to meditate.

Things had not been going as well as Spock had hoped when he’d chosen Jim. He’d been sure back on the space station that it would be Jim who could break the enchantment which had been placed on Spock. In fact, he had already thought he would be back to his humanoid self by now. But weeks had passed and he was still a cat.

Jim might joke about his mother having Spock neutered but it was no laughing matter to Spock. He could _not_ let that happen!

Spock heard footsteps approach and he straightened up from the couch.

_Jim_.

He recognized the sound of the feet as belonging to his human.

The door opened and Spock jumped down from the couch, running toward the door. He stopped in his tracks.

Jim was crying. His blue eye were glistening with tears and there were tear tracks all down his pale cheeks.

“Hey,” Jim whispered, but it was without the enthusiasm he usually greeted Spock. He slung his book bag down on the dining room table. And instead of reaching down to pick Spock up, as Spock had anticipated, he turned and walked away, into the kitchen.

Spock followed.

Jim went over to the sink and leaned against it, his head bowed as more tears fell. Spock rubbed against his legs.

“I know. Just-just give me a second.”

Spock could tell that Jim was shaking. And Spock was very unhappy. He wanted Jim to pick him up.

“Meow.”

Jim turned on the water and splashed it in his face, then he turned off the faucet and reached down to finally scoop Spock up in his arms.

“There,” Jim said. “Satisfied?”

Spock certainly was not. The tears remained in Jim’s beautiful eyes.  Spock put his paw on Jim’s face.

“Ouch! No claws.” Jim held Spock further away.

Spock had forgotten he had his claws out. He hung his head.

“School sucks,” Jim said softly. “They-they weren’t nice to me. At all.”

Spock had experience with bullies. When he’d been a Vulcan boy instead of a cat.

“Mew.”

“They said stuff about Tarsus,” Jim whispered. “And-and Sam too. They acted like…I was some kind of freak. I don’t want to go back there, Spock.”

Spock attempted to scoot closer even though Jim held him. He purred.

Jim smiled a little and brought Spock closer to him. Close enough that Spock could try again and he put his paw on Jim’s face.

“You’re the only one who really cares about me, huh? The only one I can rely on. Everyone else. Everything else. Sucks.” Jim rubbed Spock’s head. “I’m trying. I really am. But nothing I do seems good enough. Sometimes I wish-I wish I hadn’t made it off that planet.”

Spock did _not_ like that talk at all. He put two paws on Jim’s face this time. If he had the power to shake Jim he would have.

“I know.” Jim looked down at the ground and then back at Spock. “How about some food? For both of us.”

****

“I heard about school.”

Jim nodded. He stared at his feet at the end of his outstretched legs. He was slumped in the chair at Bones’ office.  

“Want to talk about it?”

“Well. I’m being home schooled now.”

“Want to talk about what they said to you?”

Jim shook his head.

“Jim.”

“You probably know most of it from Mom,” he told Bones.

“I’d like to hear it from you,” Bones said gently. “Jim, you think this is the first time I heard shit like that? It’s not. And just because they say it, it doesn’t make it true.”

“They said we turned cannibal,” Jim said slowly, his heart thundering. “We didn’t.”

“Of course not.”

“They acted like I would eat them or something and it just…I hate them.”

“They just don’t know any better, Jim.”

“Some excuse.”

Bones nodded. “Agreed. But you know they are wrong, Jim.”

He shrugged.

“Listen, there’s a program I think you and your mom should consider,” Bones said. He reached into a drawer and took out paper brochures. “It would mean a move but—”

“A move? A move to where?” He took the brochures Bones handed him.

“San Francisco. And maybe your mom wouldn’t want to consider it, but I think it would be good for you.”

Jim looked at the brochure in his hands.

“Starfleet? Don’t you have to be older for that?”

“This is a new youth program. Starts in middle school, goes through high school, and then ultimately the Academy where you then decide if you want to become command, science, security, communications. That’s all down the line. It’s a big commitment, Jim. Not going to lie. But I think it’s a place you’d do very well.”

He shook his head. “My dad—”

“Yeah, I know about your dad. But if you’re interested in it, I’d talk to your mom. I think she’d be open to it. More than you think.”

“San Francisco and Starfleet,” Jim murmured. His gaze rose to Bones.

Bones smiled. “What do you think? And before you ask, yeah the pointy-eared bastard can come too.”

Jim smiled at the mention of Spock.

Leave Riverside? Put all that shit behind him?

_Hell yeah_.

“I’m in.”


	5. Extra Veggies

Jim looked around the San Francisco apartment still holding Spock’s carrier. He was filled with an excitement he could hardly contain.

Since they had arrived in San Francisco that morning they’d been in constant motion. They’d been met at the shuttle bay by his mom’s friend, Christopher Pike. Pike was a captain himself in Starfleet and knew all about the youth program. Jim found himself liking Captain Pike, though he hadn’t wanted to.

Pike had taken them out to breakfast then and informed Mom and Jim that he’d be taking them to their new home next, an apartment on the fourth floor of a building just a block from the middle school sanctioned by Starfleet that Jim would be attending. He would be able to walk there.

He’d gobbled down more food than he probably should have, though he’d fed bits of pancake to Spock through the carrier bars, and had snuck in several sips of his mom’s coffee when she was too busy talking to Pike.

By the time they left the restaurant to head to the new apartment, _furnished_ , Jim had been so excited he was jittery and anxious. He could feel Spock was agitated in the carrier too because he kept banging around inside.

Jim had been so glad when Mom agreed for them to move to San Francisco to attend the Starfleet youth schools as suggested by Dr. McCoy. She’d been a surprisingly easy sell and on the shuttle to San Francisco she had admitted to Jim she was no happier living in Riverside then he had been.

They’d closed up the farmhouse, but not sold it, because Mom couldn’t quite bring herself to do that.

Jim stood before the dining room windows that looked out toward the street. Mom had looked at several floor plans sent her by Captain Pike before deciding on this building. She didn’t want to be on the ground floor and she hadn’t wanted a balcony.

“I had a friend back in the Academy who was goofing around on her balcony one night when she was drunk and she ended up falling off,” Mom explained.

“What happened to her?” Jim asked with wide eyes.

“She died, Jim.” Mom shuddered. “It was just awful. Those things scare the crap out of me now.”

And so, she’d chosen a building that didn’t have a single balcony. Jim didn’t care as long as it had windows.

He could hear Mom talking to Pike near the front door.

“Mom? Which room is mine?” he yelled.

“The one on the left, Jimmy.”

He hurried in that direction, still clutching the carrier.

One thing he hadn’t been too thrilled with was that Dr. McCoy would be traveling to San Francisco as well. Apparently he would be attending the real Starfleet Academy, the adult one. Jim tried not to be jealous. And he tried not to be bummed that Bones still intended to meet with Jim about “his issues”.

The first thing Jim noticed is his room had a locking door on it. He doubted his mom would allow him to lock the door but he definitely intended to try. He set the carrier on the bed, which was twice the size as his twin bed back at home.

“Want out, Spock? Want to see your new home?”

Spock meowed.

Jim opened the carrier door. “There you go, buddy.”

He turned away from the bed, figuring Spock would crawl out when he was good and ready and instead took a look at his dresser and bedside tables. He’d have to go get the luggage with his clothes and stuff from the front hall and bring them in here. He had his own bathroom which consisted of a sink, a toilet and a standing shower. No tub. That was fine. Jim wasn’t really a bath person.

This was great, Jim thought. The bedspread was dark brown with gold thread that formed leaves and branches.

Spock had just started gingerly putting his paws out onto it.

Jim grinned. “It’s okay, Spock. I’ll protect you from any ogres out to get cats.”

The cat twitched as he navigated the bed, sniffing at the bedspread.

“This is where we’re going to be sleeping,” Jim said, patting the bed and sitting down next to an exploring Spock. “I still have to bring in your cat bed so we can pretend for Mom that you sometimes sleep in it.” Jim reached over and rubbed Spock’s head. The cat purred and rubbed his head back against Jim’s hand. “I’ve got some bad news though.”

Jim could almost swear Spock understood him the way he looked expectantly at Jim. He chuckled at his own foolishness.

“We’re in an apartment now so no big back yard or outdoors. You’re cooped up inside. But it’s okay, we’ll make it fun. No more radishes in the garden though.  And I’ll be at school most days, so you’re going to have to deal without me.”

Spock tilted his head at Jim.

“I know. I’m really nervous about school. But maybe I’ll fit in here more? I’m hoping no one will have heard anything about Tarsus or Frank or any of that. Mom said it was all supposed to be kept hush hush, so maybe?”

Jim could still hear Mom and Pike talking, though now it seemed as though they had moved to the kitchen and his mom was making them coffee.

Jim flopped down onto his back on the bed and Spock promptly crawled onto him, sticking his face in Jim’s.

“Told you before no kitty kisses. That’s gross.”

Spock lifted his paw toward Jim’s face.

Jim batted his paw away. “Cut it out.” Spock whacked at him with his paw. At least no claws were out. Jim laughed. “You want to play, huh? I think all your furry mice are packed.”

Spock’s ears went back.

“They’re fake, you know. No real mice were harmed.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “You are so weird.” He sat up and got off the bed and went out of his room to the kitchen where Mom and Pike were standing. A little too close for just friends if you asked Jim.

“Hey,” Jim said. “I like my room. So does Spock.”

“Well, Spock sure has to be happy,” Mom said with a laugh. “You and that cat.”

Pike eyed Jim over his coffee cup. “Where’d you come up with a name like that for your cat, Jim?”

“I didn’t.” Jim reached for the coffee pot, his Mom raised her brows, so he dropped his arm. “He came with the name.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. He had this little necklace thing.”

“A collar?”

“Nah, not like a normal cat collar anyway. More like this little gold necklace thing. I thought maybe he belonged to a rich person, cause it was that kind of collar. Fancy engraving. But no one claimed him.” Jim shrugged. He didn’t add that neither he nor his mom tried very hard to find Spock’s owner.

Pike frowned. “Can I see it?”

“Nope.”

“Jim!”

He rolled his eyes. “Relax, Mom. Spock lost it. One day we were playing out in the yard in Riverside and I noticed it was gone. I looked around but never found it.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She ruffled his head.

“Anyway, what’s all the curiosity about Spock?” Jim asked Pike. “He’s just a cat.” Then he got a dreadful idea. “You-you don’t know who he belongs to do you?”

“No, no. Just curious. It’s a strange name.” Pike leaned back against the counter. “For a cat anyway. Pretty sure it’s origin is Vulcan.”

“Vulcan?” Jim burst out laughing. “Didn’t think they had pets.”

Pike smiled. “Probably not. And it’s probably meaningless anyway. People come up with strange places for animal names. I once knew a dog named Fedora.”

Mom was looking at Pike like he hung the moon, which Jim figured here it was. Another boyfriend. He only hoped this one would be more stable than the ones before. And he certainly was world’s better than Frank.

She turned her attention back to Jim. “Want to just order pizza for dinner?”

That brightened his mood. “Sure! Can we get one that has extra vegetables?”

“To feed to Spock?”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“All right.” She turned to Pike. “Are you staying?”

“Not tonight. I have a million things to do. But maybe I’ll bring over dinner for the three of us tomorrow night.”

She smiled brightly. “That sounds great.”

Pike waved at Jim. “See you, Jim.”

“Captain,” Jim said neutrally.

Mom walked him to the door and as Jim watched him, Spock came out of their room and rubbed against Jim’s legs.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m your territory.” Jim bent down and picked Spock up, who purred madly. “We’re getting pizza for dinner.”

“Meow.”

“Yep. Extra veggies.”


	6. After School

Spock waited anxiously for Jim to come home from school.

The human boy had left very early, rousing Spock from his rest before he was prepared to get out of bed. Jim’s mom had made him a lunch which he’d carried in a plastic container. He could tell Jim was very nervous and he had not liked how pale he was.

Spock could hardly deny he was becoming very fond of the blond. And not just because he was certain Jim would be the one to end his enchantment.

He did not mind Jim’s mom either, though she made him think of his own mother, who Spock suspected was grieving the loss of her Vulcan boy. Both his mother and father would have no idea what happened to Spock. They would just know he had ceased to exist.

At least he had Jim as his best friend. When Spock was a Vulcan boy he’d had no friends. He’d had those who were his adversaries and those who ignored him. If he had to think of a bright side to being a feline it was most assuredly Jim.

The problem with being a cat, very well, one of the many, was that Spock no longer had the ability to tell time. Therefore, he had no real inkling how long Jim had been long or when to expect him. He spent most of his day waiting, either by the door when he heard a sound outside the apartment, or thought surely it had been long enough, or on Jim’s bed.

Twice he had gone in to the kitchen to eat the fresh cooked vegetables Jim had left for him and also some of the vegetable, grain based kibble. “Crunchies” Jim called them. While it was vaguely unsettling to have to eat such things, Spock felt it would be even more unsettling to go hungry, and so he ate things commonly known to cats. Except meat. Fortunately, Jim was a most remarkable human and had not pressed him to eat such things.

Spock, presently lying on the bed, rose from his position and stretched out, his ears perking up to listen for any sounds of Jim approaching. He jumped down and ran for the door when he detected footsteps approaching. This time it sounded different so Spock didn’t think it was Mrs. Cobb again going to her own apartment.

If Jim was distressed as he had been when returning from school in Riverside, Spock simply had to be there for him.

The lock on the door made a beeping noise and the door swung open. Winona Kirk walked in and Spock was nearly disappointed. Until he saw that she was followed closely by Jim.

“And then the math instructor said…oh hi, Spock.” Jim barely spared a glance for Spock as he walked past and to the kitchen with his mom.

Spock’s ears went back. The only thing that kept his feelings from being completely hurt was that Jim did not appear to be upset. He seemed to be excited. He was chattering away to his smiling mom, his hands animatedly flailing as he did so. She thrust a bottle of water into his hand.

Spock made his way into the kitchen to rub against Jim’s legs.

“Miss me, kitty?” Jim crouched down and rubbed behind Spock’s ears. Spock really did love that. It felt incredibly good. He began to purr, which made Jim chuckle. Too soon though, Jim stopped, and stood back up, turning to his mother. “What’s for dinner?”

“I’m not sure. Chris Pike is bringing it over tonight, remember he mentioned it?”

“Oh.” Jim nodded. “Yeah, kinda. So, um, what’s up with that, Mom? Are you two, er, you know?”

Winona blushed. “Jim!”

Jim blushed too. “No! I didn’t mean _that_. I meant are you becoming romantically inclined toward each other?”

Spock approved of this question and the way Jim worded it. It made Spock think Jim might make a passable Vulcan.

Winona shrugged. “Yeah, I think so.” She stole a glance at Jim. “Is that _so_ terrible?”

“No.” Jim shifted and then reached down to pick Spock up and into his arms. This is exactly what Spock had wanted, thus why he’d been climbing Jim’s leg. “Well, as long as he’s not another Frank.”

“Oh, he’s not! Jim, I would never, not again, I swear.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he is,” Jim agreed. “He seems like he’s pretty cool.”

“He is. You’d really like him if you got to know him. He’s really looking forward to coming over tonight.”

Spock decided to take this moment, when Jim was distracted talking to his mother, to push up to Jim’s face and put his lips on Jim’s. It should work, Spock thought, even if it wasn’t Jim doing the kissing part.

“Hey, cut that out,” Jim said, pulling Spock away before he could get to Jim’s face. Then Jim unceremoniously dumped him on the ground. “I think he was going to bite me!”

“Bite you? Spock? He’s such a sweet kitty.”

 _Yes_ , Spock thought, _I was not going to bite you_.

“Well, cats can be weird sometimes. Like this kid in school I was talking to today, he said…”

Spock stopped listening as Jim droned on and on. It seemed like school was a good experience and Jim was not in need of comforting from Spock. Which was both good and bad. But now Spock had lost interest in what was going on between them. He thought he’d definitely check things out when Pike arrived, but for now he was tired, because he’d stayed alert most of the day waiting for Jim and had hardly even had a chance for a nap.

He trotted out of the kitchen and back to the bedroom he shared with Jim. He jumped on the bed and curled himself into a ball, intent on getting some sleep. That was another drawback to being a cat, Spock decided. He had an almost uncontrollable urge to nap and often.

It was a short time later, or Spock thought it was anyway, when Jim came into the room, putting his book bag in the chair and then looking at Spock with a fond smile.

“You sleepy?”

Spock only blinked at him.

“Don’t blame you. Kind of tired myself.”

Spock hoped that meant Jim would curl up on the bed next to him for Spock loved their shared naps.

Jim stretched and yawned. “I’m going to take a shower and then I have to sit down and do some homework. Mom said I could have some cheese and crackers with some herbal tea before Pike gets here.”

Jim made a face when he mentioned the tea but it actually make Spock a little sad. He would give anything to have some tea and he wondered if he would be able to get the boy to share it with him.

Jim leaned down and patted Spock’s head. “Thanks for waiting for me, Spock. I know why you did, but it went okay, and I love you.”

“Meow.”

Jim grinned. “I think that probably means you love me too.” He laughed. “Don’t get jealous or anything but there was this really cute girl at school.”

Spock’s ears went back but Jim didn’t seem to notice. Instead he rubbed Spock’s head again and then headed into the bathroom to turn on the shower.

Spock doubted the girl at school was really cute at all. But he sighed and closed his eyes for his nap.   


	7. Weird Boy

Jim peered over his mom’s shoulder at the takeout food Captain Pike had brought with him. Pike had set the food down and then asked to use the bathroom to wash up.

“Chinese food,” Jim said neutrally. He did not particularly like it but of course Pike would not know that. The captain knew nothing much about Jim at all.

Mom was giving him a look though.

“What?”

She shook her head and took out the containers of Chinese food and reached in for the last one, which she opened to show him contained a hamburger and fries. “This is for you.”

Jim turned as he heard Pike approach.

“Your mom told me you’d rather have a hamburger, Jim.”

“Thank you. That was nice of you to think of me.”

“Well, I sure know what it’s like to be forced to eat something you don’t want to.”

Jim’s gaze slid away then. “I’ll eat anything.” Watching everyone around him fight over what food was left, taught him to appreciate _anything_. “But thank you.”

“Could you set the table Jim?” His mom asked.

“Sure.” He went into the cabinets for the dishes and brought them to the table.

“Where’s Spock, Jim?” Pike asked.

“Oh, he’s sleeping on my bed. He had a rough day.”

Pike smiled. “Rough? How?”

Jim shrugged. “He seemed a little anxious about my first day of school.”

“Probably sensed the way you felt,” Mom said. “I heard animals can sense the emotions of their care givers.”

“I heard it went well, though.” Pike’s smile widened. “You had a good day?”

Jim glanced at his mom, who he was certain told Pike school had been fine. “Yeah, it was cool. And I even made some friends.”

“He even met a girl.”

“Mom!” Jim blushed.

“First day? Pretty impressive.” Pike chuckled.

“She’s just a friend,” Jim muttered. “But she lives kind of close and I was thinking of asking her to come by and do homework one night with me. Would that be okay, Mom?”

“Certainly, if her parents say so.”

Jim sat down and grabbed his hamburger taking a bite. It was good. Really good. “This is…this is great.”

“Best hamburger joint in San Francisco,” Pike told him.

Jim thought maybe Pike was laying it on a little thick, trying to get his approval or something, but he guessed the captain was okay. He didn’t appear to smell like Frank had. That was in his favor.

“Want to tell me about your time in Starfleet, Captain?”

****

Jim tugged anxiously on the collar of his buttoned down shirt as he waited for Penelope to arrive three days later. She was due any minute and Jim couldn’t wait to see her again, even though he’d seen her at school, of course.

Jim thought maybe she liked him too which was a huge change from the girls in Riverside. None of them liked him at all.

Spock rubbed against his legs and Jim glanced down at the cat. Jim briefly wondered if he ought to lock the cat up in his room while Penelope was there. She might be allergic like Bones.

He bit his lip and reached down to pick up Spock, who immediately started purring and rubbing his face all over Jim. The doorbell rang.

“Dang it.” Jim straightened and went to the door to open it for Penelope.

“Oh, what a cutie pie!” Penelope cried out as soon as she saw Spock. Spock’s ears flattened. “Oh she’s precious, Jim.”

“Come in,” Jim said, realizing he was blushing. “Um. He.”

“What?”

Penelope walked into Jim’s apartment, her skirt swirling as she did so. She smiled brightly at him, her green eyes sparkling. She held her book bag in her hands. Jim stared at her.

“Nice place you have. Just you and your mom?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Just us.” Jim closed the door and followed her as she headed into his living room. He dumped Spock on the couch as he did so.

“We live in a house,” she said, making her way into the kitchen. “Can I have something to drink?”

“Sure. Yeah. Sorry. Should have offered.”

She smiled sweetly. “Coke, please.”

Jim went in the fridge to get it for her.

“If your mom and you are going to stay in San Francisco, you’ll want to get a house too.”

“Well. We have a house.” Jim handed her the glass of Coke.

She wrinkled her nose. “In Iowa. All that’s there is a shipyard. No one of importance in Starfleet stays there.”

They went over to the dining room table with their book bags and sat down.

“I can’t believe you’re going into command,” Penelope said, blinking her lashes at him.

“Something in your eyes?” Jim asked with a frown.

“No.” She sighed. “Of course I could _only_ date a captain.” She paused and bit her lip. “When I’m allowed to date that is. I’m not. You know. Allowed to. Yet.”

“Oh.” Jim nodded. “Yeah. No. Me either.”

“This is just two schoolmates working on projects together.” She sniffed. Went into her bag and pulled out her PADD. “If my schoolmate just _happens_ to be the cutest boy ever, well that’s hardly my fault, is it?” She blinked her eyes again like before.

Jim really thought maybe she had dust in them or something. But hey, he was pretty sure she just called him the cutest boy ever. He grinned.

Suddenly, Spock jumped right on the table in front of Penelope, knocking the glass of Coke into her lap.

“Oh!” She stood up and bagged away, looking in dismay at her soaked skirt.

“Spock! No!” Jim hurried into the kitchen for towels. “I’m so sorry!”

“Why would she do that?” Penelope took the towels from Jim and started wiping her skirt. “It’s probably ruined!”

“I don’t know. He’s never done that before.” Jim glared at Spock who sat nearby licking his paws. “Bad Spock!”

“It’s a good thing it didn’t get on my PADD.” She made a face. Then she wiped the chair she sat in and plopped down. “What a stupid cat! You should smack her.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “Oh no. I would never hit my cat. And he. Um. Him.”

“That’s why she misbehaves. Because you don’t discipline her. When you’re a starship captain, you have to learn you need discipline.” Penelope powered on her PADD. “I’m going to be a scientist, of course. Lieutenant Markham, the principal, said I have an aptitude for it.”

“Yeah? That’s cool.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s more than cool, Jim. You’re so strange sometimes. If you weren’t the cutest boy ever.” She sighed dramatically. “I have to study biology.”

Jim nodded and went to start his own PADD. That’s when he saw that Spock, tail high in the air, was making his way toward Penelope. More specifically, Penelope’s leg.

_Oh. No._

“Spock!” Jim got up, frantically reaching for the cat, just as he lifted his leg and sprayed Penelope’s leg.

“OH MY GOD!” Penelope screamed, rising from her chair. “Did that damn bitch just pee on me?” And she stuck her foot out toward Spock, kicking him hard so he with a screeching meow he hit the wall.

“Hey! Don’t kick my cat!”

“She peed on me!”

“For like the fifth time, Spock is a _HE_.” Jim turned and hurried after Spock, who was dashing toward the bedroom.

“You stupid, weird boy!” Penelope shrieked. She stuffed her PADD into her bag, furiously. “I’m leaving! And I never want to speak to you again!”

“Good riddance!” Jim yelled back as he rushed into check on Spock. He heard the front door slam hard. “Spock. Spock? Are you okay?”

Spock was hunched in the corner, hiding.

“Oh. It’s okay, kitty. That mean girl is gone. And she’s never coming back.” Jim knelt beside Spock and reached a hand out, which Spock licked. “Probably shouldn’t have peed on her though.” Jim smiled a little. “Silly cat.”

Spock allowed Jim to pick him up and hold him close. “You okay? She didn’t hurt anything, did she?” Jim felt his stomach and back and legs, but everything seemed to be normal. “Sorry, she was so mean. I guess just because you’re pretty, doesn’t mean you’re nice.”

Spock purred and rubbed his face all over Jim’s.

“Want some food?” Jim smiled. “Okay. Come on. You deserve something good after all that. What got into you anyway? You’ve never jumped on the table before or peed on anyone.” He snorted. “Don’t make a habit of that okay?”

He set Spock on his feet, and headed for the kitchen, Spock following closely behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: Next chapter will move forward a few years


	8. Lost

“Happy birthday dear Jim, happy birthday to you.”

Jim smiled at his mom, Chris Pike, and Bones. They had all gathered at the apartment to celebrate his sixteenth birthday. Mom had asked him what he wanted to eat and who he wanted to be there.

So, he’d said besides her, he just wanted Pike and Bones. He had a few friends at school, sure he did, but his birthday could tend to get melancholy under the circumstances. Bones got that. If anyone did. He’d spent lots of time sharing with Bones. And though the good doctor was no longer officially counseling him, Jim still confided in him.

He’d chosen pizza, of course, Jim loved pizza, and for dessert there was cake and ice cream. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. And Neapolitan ice cream.

Well, and of course, Spock was there with him. Sitting dutifully near, observing the celebration but not, fortunately, interfering. Since the whole Penelope thing a few years back, if Jim wanted to study with anyone, because he liked them, he always did it at their house or at the little coffee place just up the street from the apartment.

Jim went in to the kitchen to get plates for the pizza and Pike followed him in.

“Hey, Jim, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Oh. Sure. What’s up?”

Pike looked a little nervous, which was kind of funny, because he was usually such a self-assured guy. “Your mother and I have been seeing each other for a while now.”

“Uh-huh. Years.” Jim reached up into the cabinet for the plates.

“Yeah.” Pike’s ears were really dark read. He rubbed the back of his neck. “The thing is, I’ve asked your mom, that is, I’d like the two of you to move in with me now. Instead of this place. I’ve got a place near Starfleet. It would actually be closer to your school, Jim. It’s a really nice building with an indoor swimming pool. Of course you’d have your own room and bathroom like you do here. Only bigger. So, what do you say?”

Jim leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “Are you marrying my mom?”

“Well. Yeah. I’ve asked her. And she said yes.”

“I’m surprised it took you this long.”

Pike smiled a little. “With your mom, I was trying to go slow. With what happened with your dad and you and you know, all that.”

“There’s slow and then there’s _slow_.” Jim grinned. “I think it’s cool.”

“You do?” Pike looked very relieved.

Jim laughed. “What did you think? I’d say, oh no way. You can’t marry my mom and we won’t live with you?”

“Well. I wasn’t sure. You know I’ll be your stepdad.”

“A better one than the last, that’s for sure.”

The smile slipped from Pike’s face as he stared at Jim intently. “You can bank on that, Jim. I’ll never be like that and he’ll never come near you again.”

“I know.”

Spock came into the kitchen and rubbed against Pike’s legs. He crouched down to pet Spock. “Yes, you can come too, Spock.”

“I would never leave you behind,” Jim assured him.

Pike straightened. “That reminds me. Spock is definitely a Vulcan name like I suspected.”

“Yeah?”

”There’s a Vulcan ambassador named, Sarek, who had a son named Spock.”

Jim frowned. “Had?” Spock suddenly jumped up from the floor and into Jim’s arms. “Hey. Okay, buddy.” He laughed. Then turned back to Pike. “Is he dead? The ambassador’s son, I mean.”

Pike shrugged. “I guess so. Apparently he died a few years back. Was just a kid, too. Very sad.”

Jim looked at Spock and rubbed his chin. “That is sad. I’m glad I have _my_ Spock.”

“You two? Come on. The pizza’s getting cold,” Bones called from the other room.

Pike smiled and put his hand on Jim’s shoulder as they went back to join his mom and Bones.

****

Jim made up his mind that he just hated moving. He’d done it more times than he’d cared to count now and it was just no fun at all.

It was even less fun with a cat.

The thing about cats was they liked to set up their territory, their space, and they hated to be displaced. It frightened them.

Jim was attempting to make it as free from trauma as possible for Spock. He’d put him in the cat carrier early on the morning they were set to move.  He had Spock’s carrier brought over to the new apartment building early too, so that the stomping back and forth of the movers wouldn’t bother him.

His mom and Pike had decided once the move was done, they’d get married later that day, going before one of the admirals at Starfleet Academy who could officiate their wedding. Jim thought it was stupid to do it all in the same day but of course they had no intention of listening to him.

The whole thing was nerve wracking and a pain in the ass and ended up taking way longer than Jim even thought it would, so that by the time the last of their stuff was finally moved into Pike’s apartment, Jim was battered and drained and just about ready to chew off Bones’ arm.

“It’s a real nice place, Jim,” Bones said. “Close to your school and will be really close when you enter the Academy in two years.”

“Yeah, but I may just get a dorm there. Not sure I want to live with the old folks for that long.”

“I heard that,” his mom said coming into the apartment carrying a box.

“Well, at least your hearing hasn’t gone yet.”

Bones choked on a laugh.

“You’re getting quite the smart mouth on you, Jim.” But she rolled her eyes and headed for the master bedroom with her box.

“I’m going to go check on Spock. He’s probably a furry ball of nerves in the carrier by now.”

“You and that cat. You’re closer than two people.”

“Well, of course. Spock’s better than people. Help yourself to a drink or something.”

Jim headed to his room where Spock’s carrier was put, already smiling at the idea of coaxing Spock out of his cage to meet his new accommodations.   

He stopped dead.

The carrier door was open. “Spock?”

Jim bent down and peered into the carrier.

No Spock.

“Spock! Spock!”

“Jim, what’s all the racket?” Bones asked, coming into the room

“Spock’s gone! Some asshole opened his carrier.” Jim bit his lip. “Damn, he could be anywhere.”

“Calm down, kid. We’ll find him.”

“Bones, he could have left the apartment. The door has been open on and off all day.  And he doesn’t _know_ this place or this area. Oh my God. I’ll die if anything has happened to him.”

“Nothing has happened, Jim. Calm down.” He had taken his tricorder out and was scanning Jm. “Your vitals are going haywire.”

Jim brushed passed him and into the rest of the apartment.

“Spock!”

Mom came out of her bedroom. “There you are. Let’s get going to HQ. Chris already headed over there to get the admiral ready.”

“No.”

“ _What_?”

“Mom, Spock is missing! Someone let him out of his carrier. I can’t go anywhere until we find him.”

“Oh, come on, Jim. He’s probably hiding somewhere in the apartment. We’ll find him later when we come back.”

“No, now.” Jim turned toward Bones who had followed him out the bedroom. “You search the apartment. I’m going out to see if he’s out there somewhere.”

“James Tiberius!”

He ignored her and ran out the door of the apartment to search for Spock.

He looked everywhere in the building he thought Spock might have been able to get to and when he didn’t find him, he went out of the building to the street. Jim was practically in tears now though he was desperately trying to keep that at bay.

The streets in front of the apartment building were crowded with people and hover cars and noise and—

God. What if he never found Spock?

Jim went right because he had to choose a direction. And for some reason he felt certain that was the way Spock had gone. He had no clue why.

He’d walked maybe half a block when he noticed a narrow alley. He peered in but saw nothing but a giant trash receptacle and filth and decay. It was really smelly. He was about to turn away when he heard what he thought was a muffled,

“Meow.”

“Spock!” He hurried down the alley and to the large trash bin. There, piled on a heap of trash, was his extremely soiled cat.

“Spock! Oh my God.”

He was about to reach for the cat when it gave a cry and jumped into Jim’s arms.

“I was so scared,” Jim said, sniffling now. “I thought I’d lost you. I thought…God, you reek!”

Spock purred and rubbed against his neck and face. Jim could feel his heart beating madly.

“Oh, baby, it’ okay,” Jim said, soothing. “I’m here. I’ve got you. We’ll get you home and cleaned up. I promise.”

His mom and Bones were waiting for him when he burst through the apartment door triumphantly holding Spock.

“He was in a trash heap!”

Mom shook her head. “I can both see and smell that.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. But I just had to find him.”

She sighed. “I know. But we need to go. So lock Spock up in your bathroom, clean up as best you can, and change and we’ll go. You’ll have to give him a bath when we come back.”

“Okay.”

“And wear something nice. We’ll go have dinner afterward.”

Jim began to turn away, still clutching Spock to his chest.

“Jim.”

He looked at her.

She smiled. “I’m glad you found him.”

“Me too. I’ll hurry.”

He ran to his room, and then his bathroom, and put Spock in there while he washed off as much as the filth from the trash and Spock as he could. Spock stayed very close to him the whole time, rubbing and rubbing against him.

“Oh I know, buddy. I love you too.” He bent down and pet Spock. “When I get back I’ll clean you up and we can cuddle all night. But I have to go.”

He scrambled out toward the door of the bathroom, noticing Spock intended to follow.

“No, kitty. You have to stay in here so you don’t mess anything up with your dirty fur and stuff. See you soon. I promise.”

He closed Spock in the bathroom, rather unhappily, and got ready to give his mom away to Pike in marriage.   


	9. The Academy

Spock was becoming desperate and he was running out of time. And running out of parts of himself.

It had all gone so wrong.

Spock was…what was he now? Jim had ‘owned’ him for five years now. Five long years of being a cat. And he had been cursed to be a cat at the age of fifteen. That made him…twenty.

He tried to recall the words the enchantress said when she had cursed him. Those memories were harder to come by now.

_He’d been on Vulcan. Stonn and the others had been pretending to be his friend now. At the time, Spock had believed the offer of friendship was genuine. Vulcans did not lie. Except that Stonn and his friends had._

_He’d followed them out to the caves just outside of the city with the promise they would explore them together. Given their prior adversarial relationship, Spock had accompanied them with some trepidation._

_One mistake he had made was not to inform his mother where he was going. They had departed right after school, and Spock in a rare fit of rebellion, had left the city without informing his mother._

_Once they had entered the caves, Stonn and his friends had managed to lose Spock in the twists and turns. He realized very soon into trying to find his way back that it had all been quite deliberate. He had very little time to reflect on his own foolishness for trusting them because as he rounded a corner he had suddenly encountered a strange female of unknown origin decked out in black. She looked neither like a modern Vulcan nor a modern human. She had golden eyes shaped like a cat’s and her hands had retractable claws._

_“You shouldn’t be here, little boy.”_

_“I am not a little boy,” Spock had protested. “And I am lost.”_

_“Lost are you? You poor boy.”_

_Her hair reminded him of thick webs like a spider. She moved closer and Spock backed away. She was looking at the gold necklace he had with the square shaped pendant with his name on it that his mother had given him._

_“Spock. Your indemnity?”_

_“Affirmative.” Behind her, Spock noticed several creatures moving. They resembled cats. He made a face before he could stop himself. “What are those? Cats?”_

_“Very similar to cats, yes. They are my familiars. You don’t like them?”_

_They looked like cats he was familiar with and yet not. They were twisted and strange. “I do not think I do.”_

_She laughed then. “Perhaps you should be a cat then, and you will know what it like.”_

_Spock shook his head. “I do not wish to be a cat. I only want to go home.”_

_She narrowed her eyes. “You are Vulcan. You are like those that placed me here.”_

_“No, I—”_

_“Silence! It is your kind that abducted me from my own planet.”_

_“I am sure—”_

_She waved her clawed hand at him and before he could react Spock felt his body in intense agony. She laughed as his body turned and twisted and reformed into the body of a black kitten. She scooped him up. “Oh, aren’t you a sweet little thing? You make an excellent cat, Spock. Perhaps you will stay that way for life.”_

_She walked with him down the twists and turns of the cave until they reached the entrance. “This is the way out, little cat. You have only one way of becoming Vulcan again. I doubt you will accomplish it. Those Vulcans that brought me here, they were your ancient ancestors. Savages they were. But I do recall that one or two of them had male lovers, warriors, they called t’hy’la. You must find your t’hy’la and get him to kiss you.” Her laugh was wicked as she set him down at the cave entrance. “Good luck, kitty! Oh. And better find him soon! By your twenty-first birthday, you will be fully turned into a feline.”_

He’d ended up on Yorktown, Spock no longer recalled how, and met Jim. He was quite certain Jim was the one, though he had no real way of knowing it as he was, but Jim felt right and he liked Jim, right from the start. Now he loved Jim. But five years later, he was still a cat.

Jim came into the bedroom. He smiled down at Spock.

“Hey, buddy. It’s time to get going. And don’t worry you’ll love the dorm at the Academy. I promise.”

Jim produced the cat carrier and Spock dutifully crawled into it. Spock had noticed that any time Spock didn’t do what Jim wanted, Jim became upset, and he had even made Jim cry. Spock didn’t like that.

Jim snapped the lock in place and set the carrier on the bed as he gathered the rest of his things. He picked Spock up and left the bedroom.

“Well, Mom, Chris, that’s it. I’m ready to leave for the Academy.”

Spock could hear Jim’s mom sniffling and then he was jostled in the carrier as she threw her arms around her son. “I can’t believe you’re leaving. You just turned sixteen.”

“Mom, I’m eighteen.”

“And before that, you turned fifteen, and before that, fourteen and—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Jim patted her back. “And before that I was born.”

“I missed so much with you. If only I hadn’t ever married Frank then—”

“I know,” he said, his voice going that much softer.  “But you did. Okay? We can’t change anything that happened, Mom. We can only change what’s going to happen.”

Jim let go of his mom and then Spock was further jostled when he had a much heartier hug from the man, Chris Pike. “Thanks for everything, Chris. The school, the recommendations, just everything.”

“You deserved it, Jim. You’ve done all this. Are you sure you don’t want to leave Spock with us?”

Spock instantly felt panic. If Jim left him behind, all hope was lost. Whatever hope he had left, which was not much. He would be a cat forever. Losing all consciousness of himself. Not remembering he’d ever had Mother and Father. Or even remember Jim was his t’hy’la. Probably.

“Oh no.” Jim laughed. “Spock and I have been through far too much together to be ever separated.” Jim lifted the carrier to peer in at Spock. Spock purred at the sight of his beautiful Jim. “Huh, buddy? We’re stuck with each other.”

Spock meowed in agreement.

“Okay. Just making sure. Let’s give you a ride over to the campus to get you all settled in. I’ll take that. You can carry Spock.”

And so Spock knew he was being moved to yet another residence with his beloved, Jim. He had no idea how he was going to get Jim to kiss him to break the spell. But Spock would have to find a way.

Or else.          


	10. It's in His Kiss

Jim reached for the hem of his shirt, his fingers getting caught. He laughed nervously and tried again. “Sorry,” he said. “Just a little awkward.”

The guy he’d brought to his room, a third year cadet named Andrew, shrugged. “It’s fine.” He eyed Jim with a saucy wink. “I can help you get undressed. No worries there.”

Jim sat on his bed and toed off his shoes. A dreadful thought occurred. “Hang on, Andrew. I don’t have lube. We’ll have to—”

“I have some,” Andrew interrupted impatiently. “I always come prepared.”

“Oh.” Jim nodded. He got his shirt off finally and flung it. He heard a distant yowl and winced.

Sorry Spock, he said silently.

Andrew tossed a bottle of lube at him. “There. Use that. You know how, right?”

“Well…uh. Yeah. I mean I can figure it out.”

Andrew smirked. “Never mind. Just get naked and I’ll take care of it.”

Jim swallowed heavily and scrambled to remove the rest of his clothing. When he’d gotten his pants off and only wore his underwear, he watched as Andrew stripped himself of the remainder of his cadet’s uniform.

Well, sure Andrew was a bit of a…dick to be honest. But It wasn’t as though he was going to live with Andrew the rest of his days. The older cadet was just a means to an end.

Andrew set a knee on Jim’s bed and crawled toward him, his heavy, erect dick hanging between his legs. Jim felt his nervousness spike. Was this even a good idea? Well, yeah, he wanted not to die a virgin but—

“Hey relax, Kirk.” Andrew laughed. “You have your eyes all scrunched up like this is going to be agony. It feels good. You’ll see.” His smirk annoyed Jim this time though he couldn’t say why and for a moment he was afraid Andrew would kiss him.  He was kind of glad when he didn’t, and Jim wasn’t sure why.

Andrew grabbed the lube and expertly flipped open the lid like he’d it done a hundred times before. Jim guessed he probably had.  Andrew was rather slick.

And if Jim admitted it, that’s why he’d chosen him.

“Wait!”

Andrew glared at him. “What? Why?”

Jim gestured to his face as he pulled off his glasses. He’d been diagnosed recently with a little near-sightedness. Bones had told him he wasn’t a good candidate for the corrective drugs as he was allergic to one of the ingredients. Jim spent a lot of time walking around, barely seeing, because he couldn’t deny a little vanity there.

He set the glasses on the table next to the bed. Andrew shook his head but he didn’t say anything.

He positioned himself over Jim. Just as he reached for Jim, Jim felt a shift on the bed. Like someone at just jumped there.

“Oh. Fuck. No! Spock! No! Not now,” Jim yelled frantically.

“What the hell…ouw!  That fucker just scratched me!” Andrew  drew back and off the bed.

Jim pushed Spock hard off the bed, feeling bad instantly when the cat cried and ran to hide. “Spock!”

“That fuckin cat of yours is a monster. It probably gave me rabies.” Andrew was grabbing up his clothes.

“He’s had his shots and I think he would have to bite you.” Jim frowned. “Maybe.”

“Ask me if I give a fuck! Are you even allowed to have pets in the dorm?” Andrew demanded angrily as he began to pull on pants.

“Those are mine,” Jim protested.

“Shut up. You’re lucky I don’t kick your ass.” He wrenched open the door of Jim’s dorm and hurried out.

“Well. Hell.” Jim sighed and buried his face in his hands. “I am going to die a damn virgin.” He  got up, grabbed his glasses and put them on. “Spock? Where are you, kitty?”

Jim went to his dresser and pulled out sweat pants and put those on. He pulled on a tank top. “Spock? Come on, boy. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  He crouched down and looked under his bed. No cat. He sat down in defeat. God, he was a damn loser.

“Spock? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

He leaned his head back against the bed.

“This sucks. I barely have any friends. I miss living with Mom and Chris. I see Bones sometimes but he’s busy with his own stuff.” He closed his eyes. “Spock.”

A velvety cat paw touched his arm.

“There you are.” Jim opened his eyes and smiled. “Hey. Kitty cuddles?”

He picked Spock up and cuddled the purring cat to his chest.

“I really am sorry. Andrew was a dick. I’m glad you scratched him. It’s just…he acted like he liked me, you know? I thought…I don’t know what I thought, really.”

He moved the cat next to his face and smiled again. “Friends again?”

The cat stared.

“I promise. I won’t hurt you again.” Jim stared at the cat who stared back. “What?” He laughed. “Fine. God, you win. I’ll give you a kiss.” He rolled his eyes. “At least no one can see me kissing my cat on the mouth. Geez.”

Jim puckered up, feeling so incredibly stupid. He leaned into Spock and quickly pecked the cat’s lips.

Suddenly Spock’s body began to vibrate and shake. He began to struggle and yowl to get away. Jim let him go and scrambled to his feet.

“Spock? What’s wrong, kitty?”

The cat lay on the floor thrashing around like he was having a seizure. Jim began to panic and freak out himself. Tears sprang to his eyes. He’d killed his cat or something.

And then Spock began to get bigger and elongated. Jim backed away, falling onto his bed as he moved.

Spock began to change shapes and the fur dropped away.

Jim put his hand on his heart, certain he was having a heart attack.

“Jim.”

Jim sucked in a breath.

Where Spock had stood was now a naked young male…Vulcan. Jim was pretty sure. The collar around his throat, which now looked more like a necklace, was the only thing he wore.

“Jesus.”

“Jim,” he said again. His mouth moved funny like he wasn’t used to speaking.

Well of course he wasn’t! A second ago he was a fucking cat.

“Fuck me. What—what are you?”

“Sp-pock.”

Jim frantically shook his head. He scrambled up and over to the door.

“Jim, no wait.”

“Get-get away! Get away!” Jim opened the door and ran out.   


	11. Soulmates

Spock stood in the middle of Jim’s dorm room naked and unable to think what he should do next. He was a Vulcan again. Not a cat. His human had run and he knew…nothing.

He calmed his breathing or tried to. He tried to bring up the training he’d had as a boy to meditate, to within himself. But it had been a long time since he’d been a boy. Or even anything but a feline.

“Clothes,” Spock said out loud. He needed to find something to wear first.  He put his hands up to his face. And a mirror. He did not even know what he looked like at this age.

Spock turned and walked carefully into the bathroom, his two legs unsteady after walking on four for so long.  He found a mirror over the sink and stared at his reflection.

Logic failed him for several heartbeats. His eyes pricked with tears. He’d been a child when the strange woman had changed him in the caves.  That childhood was gone and now he was an adult. Years had passed by without him. His parents likely grieved his passing. And now, Jim, his Jim, had run away. And how could Spock even blame him?

After longer than was probably logical, Spock turned from the mirror and the appearance of his adult face. There was, fortunately, nothing particularly displeasing about his face other than, perhaps, a nose that was a trifle too large.

Next he went to the dresser Jim kept in his room. He opened a drawer.

The doorknob twisted and he heard the sound of the door opening. He dropped down beside the dresser to hide himself.

“Uh. Hey.” It was Jim. He looked a little shell-shocked. He closed the door but remained standing beside it.

Spock said nothing.

“I, uh, well.” Jim licked his lips. “I…what are you doing?”

“I was hoping to find clothing,” Spock said, slowly, trying to relearn the words to make Jim understand.

“Oh.” Jim reddened. “Oh. Yeah. There’s some, um, underwear in that third drawer. And a t-shirt in the one below that. I don’t know if my jeans will fit you, but, you can try the gray sweatpants in that drawer that’s open.”

Spock noticed they looked like the same pants Jim already wore.  He gathered all that Jim pointed out but he didn’t yet move. “If I may change in the bathroom?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Spock waited. But Jim didn’t get it.

“Please turn around.”

“Oh. S-Sorry.” Jim turned away, facing so that he couldn’t see Spock.

Spock went into the bathroom and put on the clothes. He was thinner than Jim so they were a bit loose on him, but he felt less vulnerable now that he was not naked. And Jim had returned without him having to find him. That was a relief.

When he came out, Jim was sitting on the edge of the bed. He went to stand, and Spock spoke quickly, “Please do not get up.”

Jim nodded. He looked pale and uncertain and he clenched his hands together in his lap. “You…you were a cat, right? I didn’t imagine that.”

“Yes. I am sorry I frightened you.”

“No, um. It’s just not every day a naked Vulcan shows up where your cat used to be.”

“I realize that.”

“Are you the missing son of Sarek?”

Spock was surprised Jim realized that so quickly but then he reminded himself that his human was very smart. “Yes.”

“I don’t…how did you become a cat?”

“There was a strange alien woman on my planet when I was a boy who cursed me. She had been abandoned and enslaved there and she took out her rage on me.”

“A child?”

“Yes. She did not care. I was just someone she could take it out on. I had been lured there by other Vulcan children under the pretense that they wished to befriend me.” Spock lowered his gaze. “They did not. I do not believe they knew she was there but I think they made it a game to get me lost there in the caves.”

Jim was quiet for a moment. “And you’ve been a cat ever since?”

“As you know. I have been with you.”

“How’d you get on that Starbase where I found you?”

Spock shook his head. “I do not know. There are many things as a cat that I did not know as a Vulcan and many things as a Vulcan I did not know as a cat.”

“I’m sorry I ran. I…I was pretty freaked out.”

“I do not blame you. So was I.”

“What happened tonight that changed you back?”

Spock walked over to a dining room chair and picked it up, bringing it over to where Jim sat. He sat in the chair close to him.  “Your kiss.”

“My kiss.”

“Part of her curse was that I had to be kissed by-by my T’hy’la before my twenty-first birthday or I would become a cat forever.”

“That’s fucked up.”

Spock nodded.

“That’s why as a cat you kept trying to kiss me?”

He nodded again.

“God. To think if I hadn’t. Wait. What is a tweela?”

“T’hy’la.”

“Yeah, that. What is that?”

Spock hesitated. “It is complicated. By-by your standards it means soulmate.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “Soulmate? You and I are soulmates?”

“The fact that your kiss changed me is evidence that we are,” Spock said carefully.

“Wow. This is…” Jim swallowed heavily. He seemed even paler. “It is a lot to take in.” His gaze, so blue, flicked toward the door.

“Please do not run. I will not harm you.”

“I won’t. I’m just really overwhelmed, Spock. A few minutes ago, it seemed, you were a cat. A cat I’ve had for years. And now you’re this Vulcan and I just…I’m a little spooked.” He gestured to Spock’s throat. “Your necklace. It wasn’t a collar at all.”

“A gift from my human mother.”

Jim smiled a little. It was nice to see. “Your mom is human?”

“Indeed.”

“So you’re only half Vulcan.”

“Correct.”

“Somehow, that makes me a little less intimidated.” Jim’s smile widened. “I have no idea why.”

“Whatever the reason, I am gratified.”

Jim stared at him, smile slipping from his face. “You’re even more gorgeous as a Vulcan than you were as a cat.”

Spock tilted his head. “Thank you?”

“Your parents? They think you are dead, don’t they?”

“Likely.”

“They’re in for a pretty fucking great surprise then.”

Spock smiled slightly himself. He could not help it. “I suppose they are.”  


	12. How Do We Do This?

This was super weird.

For years, Spock was a cat. Jim’s cat.

And now here was this tall crazily gorgeous Vulcan in his dorm who used to be a cat. Jim’s cat.

A Vulcan, former cat, now pacing in Jim’s dorm room.

Seriously, Jim was trying to keep an open mind. In fact, his mind was so open, it had exploded and was leaking, Jim was pretty sure. 

A cat turning into an alluring Vulcan talking about being soulmates just didn’t happen to Jim. Not that kind of thing.

In fact—

“Hey.”

Spock stopped pacing to turn and survey him. “Yes, Jim?”

Spock had a really nice voice. A distractingly nice voice. For a moment Jim smiled, thinking about it. Then he shook himself.

“I’m a virgin,” he blurted out.

Spock did this thing with one eyebrow that was pretty sexy. “I am aware.”

Okay, now he was blushing. Who just shouted out stupid things like that? Jim apparently.

He cleared his throat. “What I mean is did you have something to do with that?”

“Clarify.”

“Well, I know you did as a cat, because it seemed like every time I was getting close you’d…wait. Have you been cockblocking me?”

Spock gazed at him, expression one of pure Vulcan innocence. Not that Jim had known many Vulcans to recognize an innocent look, but this was totally one. “I am not familiar with that term.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. I’m pretty sure you can figure it out.” He narrowed his eyes. “You jumped on whatshisname on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Andrew.”

“I know what his name is!”

“Then why—”

“You totally did! And-and Penelope—”

Spock straightened. “She was completely unworthy of you.”

“But still!”

“And it hurt when she kicked me.”

Jim deflated and bit his lip. He walked over to where Spock stood. It was nice to be close to him. Which was weird, wasn’t it? Spock was pretty much a stranger. But he reached out and touched Spock’s arm. “I’m sorry. She was a bitch.”

“And I apologize for any questionable behavior my feline self engaged in where you are concerned, Jim. For Vulcans it is difficult to observe others manhandling our mates.”

And that mate thing. Okay, Jim just wasn’t going there. Not addressing _that_.   

“Um. Anyway. I guess it’s all right. Andrew wasn’t much better than Penelope. I just wanted to get laid,” Jim admitted.

“Allow me to assist you with that.”

“Spock! Geez.” He felt himself blush again. “We just…you and I have only just met and I don’t know you well.”

“How well did you know Andrew?”

“That isn’t the point.”

“Is it not?” Up went the eyebrow again. “We have not just met either. We have been living together for years.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “You were a cat! Now you’re this Vulcan stud.”

“I am hardly a stud,” Spock insisted. “If anyone is far too attractive it is you.”

“Thank…wait. You’re trying to butter me up, huh? I’m not going to sleep with you, Spock.” Jim crossed his arms in front of his chest. “At least not yet.”

Spock inclined his head. “At least the possibility exists.”

“Of course it does. In fact, it’s highly probable. Eventually. But not tonight. I just found out you aren’t my cat.”

“In fact I was for a number of years.”

Jim’s lips twitched. “Yeah and I sure could make you purr.” Jim turned away. “Stop it.”

“I did nothing.”

Jim stepped away from the Vulcan. “I’m not sure how we do this.”

“Do what, Jim?”

“ _I don’t know_.  Go from being a cat and caregiver to a human and a Vulcan having sex and being mates and shit.”

“It should be simple,” Spock insisted.

“Well, I’m sorry but I’ve never had a pet I used to feed radishes to turn into a Vulcan with dark dreamy eyes talking about mating—”

“Mates.”

“God. I do have sex on the brain, don’t I?”

“The simple solution would be to—”

Jim rounded on him, slashing his hand. “Just don’t. I need some time.” He let out a breath. "And so do you. It’s just not normal to sleep with your cat, Spock.”

Spock opened his mouth and then closed it. He nodded. “Very well. I acknowledge the strange circumstances of our relationship.”

“Thank you. I mean we haven’t even had dinner together.”

“Is that required?”

Jim shrugged. “Preferred.” Jim sighed and grabbed the two wooden dining room chairs and pulled them over to where Spock stood. “Sit.”

Spock dutifully sat and Jim next to him.

“Listen, there’s a lot to figure out. And not just when you and I are going to have sex. We have to tell your parents. They might require some kind of proof.”

“My father would meld with me and that would be the only proof required.”

Jim nodded. “Makes sense. So that means going to see him in person, right? Comming your parents isn’t exactly the ideal way to tell them you’re alive and have been living as a cat.”

“And that I have a mate.”

“Er, yeah. That too. And I have to tell Mom and Pike, too.” Jim grimaced. “They can’t simply meld with you to know we aren’t batshit crazy.”

Spock reached his hand toward Jim, who couldn’t hold back a flinch. Spock pulled back his hand, his skin flushing green. “I-I apologize.  I only wanted to hold your hand. My forwardness—”

“No. Spock. I’m sorry. This is just…I’m getting used to it.” Jim reached his hand toward Spock’s, palm held up.

Spock put his hand on top of Jim’s, their palms resting against each for a few seconds before Spock curled his fingers around Jim’s hand. “It has been a long time since I have experienced the touch of another warm-blooded being as myself,” Spock whispered. “I find myself craving the contact.”

Jim’s heart twisted. “I’m sorry. I should have thought of that. Spock, this-this has been so awful for you and here I’m only thinking about how it is for me.” He scooted his chair along with himself closer to Spock and grasped his hand tightly. “Do you want me to go with you to Vulcan to tell your parents?”

Spock nodded. “I would prefer that you are by my side through all of it. I apologize if that is selfish but—”

“No. It’s not.” He attempted a smile. “This-this is all a little crazy for me but it’s way worse for you. To lose all those years of your life. I can’t even imagine.”

“It would have been worse if it was not you who found me and adopted me,” Spock whispered.

“And that was a weird coincidence, right?”

“There are no such things. I believe you were meant to find me as my t’hy’la.”

“And I almost didn’t break the spell in time.”

“But you did.”

Jim gazed into Spock’s brown eyes and then leaned forward, pressing his lips to Spock’s. When he pulled back, Spock looked a little dazed. “Is that all right?”

“It is more than all right.”

“Want to go have some dinner somewhere? Surely you’d like something other than cat food.”

Spock arched that brow. “Indeed. I would like to also begin the practice of wooing you.”

Jim licked his lips. “Ah. Um. Yeah. So.” He stood up and tugged Spock with him because Spock was stilling holding onto his hand like he needed it as much as his own limb. Maybe he did. “Come on.”

As he opened the door to his dorm to go outside, Spock touched his arm.

“I am also a virgin.”

Jim burst out laughing. “Yeah. I guess you would be. Come on. Food first. All the rest can wait. I think.”


	13. An Edge of Panic

Spock was overwhelmed.

Being outside as a Vulcan-Human hybrid for the first time in many years filled him with anxiety he had not anticipated.

Jim shot him a look. “Are you okay?”

No, he was not. He scooted closer to Jim. “I am experiencing panic.”

“Panic?” Jim asked, alarmed. He grabbed Spock’s arm and pulled him to the side under the awning of a store as people, so many people, passed them by. “What’s wrong?”

“I believe it is…sensory overload.”

“Oh.” Jim paled. “Fuck, Spock. I didn’t even think about that. I’m so sorry. This is way too much for you, huh? We can get food to eat in, right? I was just thinking you’ve been, um, a well, what you were, for so long and cooped up, you might want this. But of course you don’t. It’s too much too soon.”

Spock nodded for he could not deny any of what Jim had just said.

Jim bit his lip and glance around. “Okay. Well. We haven’t gone very far fortunately. We’ll just go back and get you inside and then I’ll go and get us something.” He smiled at Spock. “How’s that?”

Spock exhaled. “Perhaps that would be wise.”

“Good. All right, I have hold of your arm and I’m just going to walk back the way we came and get you back home, is that all right?”

“Yes, that is acceptable.”

Jim turned and began to walk back toward the campus and the dorm. It was not enough that Jim had his arm, though, for Spock found himself grabbing onto Jim, holding onto him as though his life depended on it, and at that moment, Spock sort of felt that it did. He was fortunate that Jim did not protest his very tight grip.

And that Jim was a very fast walker. They returned to the dorm in short order and Jim scanned them in, pulling Spock inside. Spock immediately sank against Jim, and he was grateful when Jim’s arms came up around him. As well as embarrassed.

“I am sorry,” he muttered.

“No, it’s okay. I should have thought of that.” Jim laughed. “Okay. Well, sure, how could I think of how to behave when your cat turns into a Vulcan? Neither of us as any experience with this, Spock.”

“I am aware.” He burrowed into Jim, who sighed and patted Spock’s back.

“Are you going to be all right while I get us some food?”

“No.”

“Spock. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“So I guess I’ll order delivery then,” Jim said, sounding uncertain. He pulled away from Spock with a great deal of gentleness and patience. He put his hand on Spock’s jaw, forcing Spock to meet his gaze. “Hey. It’s going to be all right. We’ll eat and then we’ll figure out how to get everyone notified that needs to know. Maybe we can sleep on it even, right? Figure it out in the morning.”

Spock liked that idea for he wasn’t yet ready to deal with _anyone_ else but Jim.  He nodded quickly. “Yes.”

Jim took hold of Spock’s hand and laced their fingers together and drew him toward the small dinette set Jim had in his dorm just outside the kitchen. He gently pushed Spock down into a chair, but then tried to extract his hand from Spock’s vice grip.

“No!”

“Shh. Okay? I’m not going anywhere.” Jim smiled down at Spock. “You like touch. I know.”

“Yes.”

“And as you said earlier you’re even a little touch starved considering everything.”

Spock swallowed. “Yes. Jim, I am sorry.”

“No need to be. But in order to order us something to eat, I need my hand.” The smile he offered Spock was sweet and beautiful and Spock couldn’t help but think he was very lucky to have Jim as his mate. “Now, you sit there, and you can see me the entire time while I order us something. And would you like something to drink? Water?”

Spock forced himself to be calm and not overreact. He did not want to send Jim running away from him again because he could not control himself. He shook his head, recalling that before he had been changed, he would drink tea, Vulcan tea, which he was certain Jim did not have, with his mother. “If you have tea?”

Jim made a face. “Uh, I don’t. But don’t worry. I’ll get some for you. I’ll order it. So hang on.”

Spock practiced breathing exercises he remembered from his childhood as he watched Jim order for them from his PADD. Jim always wore his concentration on his face when he studied or played a game or anything really, Spock had noticed as a feline, having watched Jim constantly, and for some reason, witnessing it now as he was Vulcan again soothed Spock. Jim had not changed at all. He was still Jim.         

Not that Spock would have expected Jim to change exactly. But Spock had, until very recently, only observed Jim from his position as a cat. He thought that perhaps a cat’s perspective might have been altered somewhat but he was glad to see that Jim was Jim. His tongue slipped out between his lips as he typed rapidly on the PADD.

After a few minutes, Jim set the PADD aside and gave Spock a smile again. “There. All set. We should be getting stuff soon. I figured it would be easier to just order from a grocery store so we could get your tea and vegetables to make fresh for you. Stuff like that.”

Spock nodded. “That makes sense. But it was not my intention to force you to cook for me.”

“I’m not forced. It’ll be fine. Good even. Our first night together should be just us anyway.” Jim puckered his lips. “Well, I mean as a Human and a Vulcan. Er Human and Vulcan-Human. Whatever. Hey, hey, now.”

Jim rushed over to him then, kneeling before him, his thumb coming up to brush under Spock’s eye. Spock hadn’t even realized his eyes had been leaking. He did not have control of his emotions a she should. He had no control of anything. Finally the spell had been broken, but Spock found he had no idea how to be anymore. It frightened him. And if it were not for Jim, Spock would have no one and have absolutely no idea what to do.

“Spock,” Jim whispered.

“I am sorry.”

“You have to stop apologizing. I know this is overwhelming for you, because it is for me, too.”

“Yes?”

“Of course. My cat turned into an incredibly sexy Vulcan and I think I’m a little crazy about him.”

Spock’s heart fluttered. “I have lost my mind over you, too.”

Jim laughed, and it was rich and deep, but also a little wrecked too and Spock realized yes, Jim _was_ overwhelmed, he was just being strong, incredibly strong for Spock, and that made Spock fall even more hopelessly in love with this human who had rescued him all those years ago.

“Taluhk nash-veh k'dular,” he whispered.

“I don’t know what you said, but it sure sounds nice.”

Spock nodded. “I will teach you Vulcan when I have the chance.”

“I would like that.”

Soon their food arrived and Jim made Spock tea, which he had not been able to drink in so long, and stir fried vegetables with bread. It was the best meal Spock could remember.


	14. About Spock

Jim had never woken up to looking into the dark eyes of a guy before.

Obviously.

Or any person. There had been times he’d opened his eyes to see Spock staring at him, but then, of course, he was a cat, and how does one say that without sounding nutty, and so this was entirely different.

Jim had no idea how long Spock had been awake, but it was definitely before Jim and he was staring at Jim as though maybe Jim was a big can of cat food. Vegetarian, of course. Now it made sense that his cat wouldn’t eat meat, didn’t it?

It was light in his dorm room, which meant that morning had arrived, anyway. He blinked several times to orient himself and to maybe get the sleep out of his eyes, but they still felt a bit crusty, so he rubbed them.

“I have not returned to cat form.”

He lowered the fists that were rubbing his eyes. “Did you expect to?”

“Negative. You were rubbing your eyes and I thought—”

“Oh. No. Just, um, eye boogers.”

Spock’s brows furrowed.

“Dried on sleep?”

Still confusion.

Jim sighed and smiled. “Never mind. I wasn’t surprised to see that you’re still a Vulcan. I’m quite glad you are though.”

“I find myself experiencing relief as well.”

Privately, Jim wondered why Spock didn’t go with the far more simple “me too”, but it seemed like his Vulcan was quite wordy. Perhaps because he’d gone so long with only being able to say, “meow”.

Last night they’d decided to deal with all the formalities of Spock being Spock again today, with clearer heads. And it meant that Jim had also decided he wasn’t going to his classes at the Academy this morning because getting Spock all sorted out surely took precedence over any of that.

They had done no more when they’d gone to bed than kiss each other goodnight. Jim had spent a very hot night because he’d spent most of it squashed under Spock, who had insisted on lying on him through much of it. Spock was heavy and warm and had also insisted on covering them with sheets and blankets. Jim had sweated like, well, um, a hot human he guessed. He was pretty sure he smelled ripe.

“How are you feeling?” he asked Spock, who had continued to stare.

“Like I would rather just stay in bed with you.”

He smiled gently and put his hand on Spock’s stomach under his shirt. He thought he heard a purr, but decided he’d probably imagined it. “Pretty nervous, huh?”

“Affirmative.”

“I can’t imagine they’ll be anything but over the moon to have you back, Spock.  From what my stepdad said your parents gave you up as dead.”

“I grieve with them.”

“That’s the cool thing, though, honey, they don’t need to grieve, because here you are.” Jim mulled that over. “But I, uh, I guess it does suck that they missed out on all those years with you. And you missed out on all those years with them. You know as your self.”

“It does indeed…suck.”

A dreadful thought occurred to Jim and he almost blurted it out, but stopped himself, biting back the selfish words before he could say them. This wasn’t about him and his needs and him being afraid they would take Spock away from him and they wouldn’t see each other. Because yeah, that was a possibility, maybe even a probability. And he didn’t want that to happen _at all,_ but what really could he do about it?

Instead, he forced himself to keep smiling. “All right, so, I think the first order of business is for you to go take a shower and then I’ll take one.”

“Very well.”

“And I’m going to attempt to contact my mom and stepdad to see, well, what they think of all this, I guess, and how they can help.”

He went to sit up in the bed, but Spock’s hand shot out and prevented him from rising.

“Hey, it’s okay. We have to do this, right? You know that, Spock.”

“I do not know if I am ready,” Spock admitted, softly, faintly.

“You are. You’ll be okay, I promise.”

Spock nodded slowly and released Jim, sitting up himself. “You will be with me through it all.”

“As much as I can be, of course.”

“What does—”

Jim touched Spock’s lips with his fingertips. “Look, I don’t want to ask for trouble, okay? But the truth is, as I see it, your folks are going to want you to be on Vulcan with them. I’m sure there are all kinds of things you’ve missed, and you’ll want to be acclimated to it all too. Right?”

Spock hesitated, but then said, “Yes.”

“Spock, I’m on the fast track to command here at the Academy.  I can only miss so many classes or they’ll either hold me back or kick me out. I won’t be able to go to Vulcan with you for an extended stay. Maybe for a couple of days or something, but long term, I need to be here.”

And there he said it. And it hurt to say it out loud and hurt even more to see Spock’s expression crumble.

“Then I will not go,” Spock said, flatly.

“Spock—”

“You are my t’hy’la and I have just become Vulcan again. We cannot be separated.”

“It’s just—”

“No.” Spock rose from the bed. “I will take my shower.”

“Spock, your parents…”

“Can come here. Where you are. I will not go to Vulcan.”

Spock turned and headed into the bathroom, closing the door with a definite snap behind him.

Jim blew out a breath and looked toward the terminal on the desk. He walked over there and sat down, bringing up the contact code for Chris and his mom.

“Hey, sweetie,” his mom greeted him almost instantly. “What’s up? Nothing’s wrong, is it?”

“Er. Is Chris there?”

“Sure.”

Pike came on the screen next to his mom. “Good morning, son.”

Jim smiled, feeling warmth infuse his chest. “Morning. Um, listen, we need to talk about Spock.”

Pike frowned. “Your cat?”

“Not anymore.”

“He’s gone?” his mother exclaimed.

“Yes and no.”

“Jim, what the hell?”

“Sorry, sir, I don’t mean to be cryptic. But Spock’s still with me. Only he’s not a cat. He’s a Vulcan.”


	15. Parental Questions

As if on cue, Spock suddenly appeared behind him. Jim turned and realized the Vulcan wore only a towel wrapped around his waist. His glossy black hair was wet. Which reminded Jim. Spock needed a haircut.

“James!” That as his mother, but Jim didn’t turn around, back to the screen. Not yet. He was admittedly mesmerized by the sight of the mostly naked Vulcan in his room. Some guys just got lucky, Jim thought, and at the moment, he supposed, it was his turn.

He cleared his throat. “Um. Spock, maybe, you know, you might want to put on some clothes.”

“Wait. What? That’s Spock?”

Jim reached for Spock’s hand then and pulled him close, turning around to face his mom and Pike. “Yes. Um, Mom, Sir, this is Spock. And Spock this is my mom and stepdad. But you know, you saw them around as a cat.”

Pike was frowning. “How is that possible, Jim?”

“Well, I guess there was this curse.”

“Jim,” Spock spoke. “If you will allow me to—”

“Yes. Um.” Of course Spock didn’t have his own clothes since as a cat he didn’t need any. “Hang on,” he said to the screen. He stood up and pulled Spock with him out of sight of his clearly gobsmacked parents.

Jim totally didn’t need to touch Spock’s chest at that moment, but he maybe did, a little anyway, and he was pleased at the feel of the damp chest and surprisingly nice pectoral muscles. It sucked being a horny young guy whose parents were basically in the room. Why had he contacted them already?

He shook his head and reluctantly removed his hand from Spock. “I’ll get you some new clothes to wear in a bit. But for now, you’re going to have to wear mine. Most of them should fit you about as well as the ones you wore yesterday, so just go ahead and pick something out.”

“Understood.”

He leaned up slightly to kiss Spock on the lips.

“Jim!”

His mom again.

He rolled his eyes and gave Spock another quick kiss and then went back to his seat in front of the screen. “Sorry. Was getting Spock situated. He doesn’t have any of his own clothes yet.”

“Jim,” Pike said. “You must know how incredible this sounds.”

“I do. But I saw it with my own eyes, sir. I saw cat Spock turn into Vulcan Spock. You remember that ambassador you spoke of, Chris? You said his kid, Spock, died? Only he didn’t. He’s my Spock.”

His mom shook her head. “You spoke of a curse?”

“Yeah, there was this ancient old witch or something or other on Vulcan that kid Spock ran into when he got lost and she cursed him. He’s been a cat ever since.”

“Okay,” Pike said. “Then how is it that all of a sudden he’s back to being Vulcan. Just like that.” Pike snapped his fingers.

“If you will allow me.” Spock appeared behind Jim again, this time wearing a pair of Jim’s jeans and a gray t-shirt. They fit him loosely, but certainly well enough. “It did not occur just like that, Captain. I was forced to be a feline for years while, thankfully, living under the care of Jim and your household. The curse could only be cured by a kiss from my T’hy’la.”

“Your…what is that?” Mom asked.

“An ancient revered bond,” Spock whispered. “Extremely rare and, I believe, chosen so that the chances of my ever emerging from the curse would be very small.”

“Like a Vulcan bond,” Pike said.

“Yes. But not one formed in the usual way,” Spock replied. “They are brother, friend.” He paused, turned a light shade of green. “Intimate friend.”

“But somehow this T’hy’la found you and kissed you.”

“I found him.”

Jim’s Mom looked from Jim to Spock and back again. “Wait. You’re not saying…”

“Yes, Mom. That’s what Spock is saying.”

She made a face. “Come on. You expect us to believe your cat that we’ve had since you were a boy just suddenly turned into a tall, dark and handsome Vulcan?”

“Yes, I do. Because I told you. Why would I lie?”

“I’m not saying you’re lying. But it’s possible you’re playing some ridiculous prank on me and Chris and—”

“It’s not a joke!”

“Or maybe some mind trick. Vulcans can do things with their mind. Maybe he’s convinced you—”

“I’m about two seconds from disconnecting,” Jim cut in.

“Calm down, both of you,” Pike said. “What we need to do is meet in person. Bring Spock over to our home. We’ll make contact with Ambassador Sarek and Amanda Grayson. We’ll go from there.”

Spock hand touched the middle of Jim’s back. He let out a long breath and nodded. “Okay. We can do that. As soon as we’re ready we’ll be over. Kirk out.” And then he did disconnect. He leaned back in the chair, his gaze meeting Spock’s. “Well that went great.”

“It is natural for your mother to be skeptical.”

“I’ve never lied to her before.” He stood up.

“Perhaps not, but our story is incredible.” Spock pulled him close.

“You’re supposed to be on our side,” Jim mumbled into Spock’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around the Vulcan.

“I most definitely am,” Spock assured. “I am just saying that we will likely face such doubts.”

“Your parents?”

“Once my father has arrived, he will meld with me. He will then have all the reassurances he will require. Your mother does not have that ability.”

Jim bit his lip and pulled back a little. “Spock, they are going to want to take you to Vulcan. You have to know that.”

“But—”

“They are going to want to examine you. Not just your dad. But other Vulcans. They’ll want to know if you’re okay.”

“They can do that here.”

“Spock, honey, I don’t want to be separated either, but realistically, it’s-it’s very possible.”

Spock stared at him mulishly. It was a look Jim was already getting used to. But Jim also knew he was right. Spock’s parents would insist he go to Vulcan to be checked by their experts and healers. Spock had been cursed. For years he’d been a cat. Jim didn’t know what damage had been done to him either.

He pushed close to Spock again, snuggling against him. It felt good. Really good. Like it had always been meant to be, and Jim guessed, that yeah it had been.

So for the moment, Jim put it out of his mind that Spock would probably be going to Vulcan and Jim would be staying behind at the Academy.     


	16. Mother, Father

Prior to his enchantment, Spock had not been clingy. Not at all. Being that he was only half Vulcan, something battered into his brain over and over again, sometimes literally, Spock had tried twice as hard as anyone to be fully Vulcan, to fit in where he clearly did not.

The reason he had followed the other boys into the cave in the first place.

And everything had changed when he’d been turned into a feline.

Prior to that, Spock had not believed in fate or destiny, but the mere fact it was Jim, his T’hy’la, of all people, that found him as a kitten on that space station Jim was only on briefly, well, Spock had no other explanation than they were destined to be together, no matter the odds.

Which meant, that no matter what their parents and other elders said, they would not be separated. Neither he nor Jim were minors anymore. They’d both passed into adulthood. This meant they were in charge of their own destiny.

Jim remained quiet and pensive as they made their way to the home of Captain Pike and his wife, Winona, Jim’s mother.  Spock was aware that Jim had some of the same concerns Spock did.

“Here we are,” Jim announced, unnecessarily, as he stopped in front of the door of the Pikes townhome.

“You are anxious.”

“Well. No. I mean, yeah. Kind of.” Jim frowned. “Do you know that because of, um, you know being T’hy’la or something?”

“While that will eventually be possible when we are formally bonded, in this case it is because I have spent years observing you.”

Jim’s mouth twisted in a smile-grimace. “As a cat?”

Spock nodded. “Most of the time I was fully aware of my previous life as a Vulcan boy. It was only as time passed that I began to lose sense of my true self.”

Jim put his hand on Spock’s arm. “And it was almost too late, wasn’t it? _I_ was almost too late.”

“You were not and that is what matters.”

The door opened without them having knocked and Jim’s mother stood there.

“I thought I heard someone out here.” Her gaze, very like her son’s, stayed arrested on Jim for a moment, before switching to Spock. “Well, you certainly look like a Vulcan.”

“Mom.”

“You must know that this a fantastical story, Jim.”

“Sure. But I’ve never lied to you, never made up stories, and I am not insane,” Jim said with more patience than Spock was certain he felt. “Can we come in?”

She held the door open wide for them and they stepped in. Spock followed Jim into the living room where Captain Pike waited. He smiled welcomingly at both of them.

“It’s good to see you, son,” he said to Jim. “It’s been a while. Ever since you went to the Academy, we barely see you.”

Jim rolled his eyes as he allowed his stepfather to embrace him. “Hardly. And this, obviously, is Spock. Spock, these are my parents.”

“Captain Pike, Mrs. Pike.”

Pike’s smile widened. “Spock. Well. I must say I’ve never experienced this before and I’ve experienced a lot of unexplained things in my lifetime and my career with Starfleet.”

“Understood. As you can imagine, the circumstances were unexpected for me as well. I was fortunate that Jim rescued me all those years ago on the space station.”

“I’ve seen holopics of you as a boy, Spock, and though I’m no expert, I can certainly see the resemblance in the boy you were.” Pike gestured to the couch. “Care to sit?”

Spock exchanged a look with Jim, and when Jim nodded, Spock knew he’d gotten the message that he wanted Jim close. They sat side by side on the couch, their thighs touching.

Jim’s mom perched herself on the arm of the chair Captain Pike had taken.

“What can you tell us, Spock?” Pike asked.

Jim put his hand on Spock’s knee. Spock appreciated the gesture, though he noticed that Winona saw it too.

“While a boy on Vulcan, I mistakenly followed classmates after school into an unexplored cave. Vulcan has many such unexplored places.” Spock paused to gather his thoughts. “I had believed their invitation to accompany them was an unexpected offer of friendship. I was wrong.” Jim’s hand had squeezed his knee tighter. “They trapped me there and I was confronted by a-a sorceress.”

“A sorceress?” Winona asked.

“Yes. Something like that. An enchantress. She seemed very old and indicated she had been there for a long time sealed by Vulcans. It was her who cursed me and changed my form from a half-Vulcan half-Human child into a feline.  She indicated that if I did not secure a kiss from my T’hy’la by twenty-first year, her curse would be irreversible and I would cease to be myself.”

“That’s a horrible thing to do to a child,” she said softly.

“Yes. There were many times, I cannot count them, when I was certain I would never be rescued from the life of a cat. Even after being rescued by Jim, the possibility of his kiss or him even being the correct one, seemed impossible.”

“But I was. And I did. Kiss you,” Jim said.

Spock nodded. “Indeed.”

“Well, my wife is right. It’s a fantastical tale.”

“Chris—”

Pike held up his hands, stopping Jim’s protest. “But one I believe. I see the evidence of your existence before my eyes. And Jim, like he said, doesn’t make up stories. It’s extraordinary that we’ve come to this, but I believe in the existence of many unexplainable phenomenon, at least unexplainable to us, and whatever happened, and however you are now with us once more, Spock, I can only greet that evidence as welcome.” He paused, then stood. “Which is why I have taken the liberty of contacting someone who, I believe, will welcome this news even more than any of us. Spock, come with me.”

Spock stood and then looked at Jim.

“Yes, Jim, too. Of course. Everyone.”

Spock took possession of Jim’s hand as Pike led them from the living room down the hall and to an office where a terminal sat. Spock’s heart raced in his side and he felt a little queasy, and a lot disoriented.

“Amanda,” Pike said, with a big smile as he looked at the screen of the terminal. “I have that surprise I told you about.”

Spock heard a gasp.

“Is it-is it real?” His mother’s voice. He would recognize it if a hundred years had passed.

“See for yourself.” Pike gestured for Spock to come. “Spock.”

He released his death grip on Jim’s hand and went to the terminal.

His mother, a wild flowered scarf upon her head, not truly looking very much older than Spock remembered, sat there in a chair in their house in Vulcan.

His knees gave out and Pike pushed a chair at him, which he sat in with gratitude.

“Mother.”

“Oh! Spock!” Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filled with tears as she began to sob. “It really is you. My Kanbu.”

“Mother, I—

“We are coming there. Now. Sarek! Sarek.”

His father appeared then and for a long moment he simply stared at Spock.

He opened his own mouth to speak, but then Sarek blinked.

“Spock. My son.”

Spock heard a sniffle behind him and knew it was Jim. He felt his own eyes sting with unexpected tears.

“We are coming,” Sarek said. “We leave now.”


	17. I Just Close My Eyes And I'm With You

Jim, admittedly, had little experience with Vulcans, as a whole anyhow, but he did have experience with Spock, both in his form now and when he was feline. So after the conference with his parents, Jim had ushered him into a private room away from Jim’s Mom and Pike. At least for the moment.

It would take Spock’s parents some time to make their way to Earth and San Francisco, so in the meantime, it was up to Jim to take care of him.

Fortunately, Jim’s own parents had understood their need for privacy and had agreed to leave them alone in Jim’s former bedroom.

Spock, currently, was pacing while Jim sat on the edge of the mattress watching him.

“I apologize, ashaya.”

Jim frowned. “For what? And hey, is that another Vulcan word?”

“An endearment. I apologize for being overwrought.”

“Spock, it’s fine.”

“It is _not_ fine,” Spock insisted. “As a Vulcan such behavior is…”

“Not unseemly. Don’t say that.”

“No.” Spock shook his head. “Undesirable.”

“Spock, honey, none of us know how you feel, okay? There isn’t any of us, not me, not Mom, not Pike, not your parents, we’ve never been changed into a cat by a crazy, evil bitch. There’s nothing wrong with being a little…distraught.”

Spock stopped for a moment and stood in front of Jim, peering down at him. “I am Vulcan.”

“I know that. But that doesn’t explain—”

“It explains _everything_.” Spock resumed pacing.

Jim blew out a breath. Okay, maybe he only had a tiny bit of experience with Spock as himself. Which probably meant he was out of his element and didn’t know, really, what to say that would make any of this better for Spock. All Jim could do was hope Spock’s parents would get there PDQ.

For what? Jim wondered. So he could pass off Spock onto them as _someone else's_ problem? That didn’t seem right.

Spock had stopped again and was now staring at Jim with a peculiar look on his face.

“What?”

“I suppose it is natural to want to be rid of someone who is merely a burden.”

“Wait. What? I don’t think…hey. Did you get my thoughts? I thought you said that wasn’t possible until we formally bond.”

“I have no direct experience with what we share either, Jim. It is something to be learned for both of us. I assumed, wrongly apparently, at least somewhat so, that a formal bonding would be required. I did, indeed, get your thoughts just now because you were loudly broadcasting them. Not because I intentionally intruded.”

Jim buried his face in his hands. “Okay. Okay. I get it. Sorry. It’s just…” He looked up at Spock. “I don’t think that. I’m just really confused about all of this.” He patted the mattress. “Can you sit, please?”

Spock hesitated only a moment before sitting beside Jim on the bed.

Jim turned so that they faced each other and then he leaned forward and kissed Spock on the mouth. At first Spock held himself stiff and unyielding and Jim thought maybe he shouldn’t have kissed Spock just then.

But just as Jim was about to pull away, Spock groaned low, and yanked Jim back, deepening the kiss. For several pounding heartbeats their mouths slid across each other. Jim pulled back again when it was becoming increasingly clear that the two of them were becoming much too aroused by it. They were still in his parents’ place with Spock’s on the way.

He put his hand on Spock’s face, cupping Spock’s cheek. “I adore you. You aren’t a burden and I don’t want to pass you off to your parents. I’m just really new to having a soulmate or whatever who used to be a cat. It’s kind of a lot to take in for a dumb human.”

“You are not at all dumb, Jim,” Spock said softly, leaning into Jim’s hand. “Right now, you are all that I know at all well. I revolve around you and you around me. You are grounding me when it is almost impossible to feel that way. And because of that, I likely am putting too much pressure on you. I promise you that it will not always be the case.”

“I know. I know this is all…nuts. But I’m not going to bail on you. I think it will just be easier for all of us when your folks get here. They’ve thought you dead for all this time. And you thought them lost to you.” His hand slipped from Spock’s face and slid down to grasp Spock’s hands in his. “We need to talk about what’s going to happen when they get here.”

“They will want to take me to Vulcan.”

“Yes, I think so. And Spock, you should go.”

“But—”

“They can’t keep us apart, Spock. Not for long. We’re T’hy’la, right?”

“Yes.”

Jim smiled. “We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. Nothing and no one will stop that. We’ve just found each other, you as who you truly are, and me as I truly am. But if you need to go to Vulcan without me, because it’s best for you, then you have to go, Spock.”

“The thought of being separated from you causes me to be incredibly anxious.” Spock looked down at their entwined hands. “Not since you found me on that space station have we ever been apart.”

“I know but…” Jim bit his lip, released Spock’s hands and stood up from the bed. He did his own bit of pacing, which Spock watched silently. Then he turned finally to look at Spock. “I’m being a really selfish dick.”

“Jim?”

“We won’t be separated, Spock. If they take you to Vulcan, then they take me too.” And with him, his dreams for Starfleet, at least temporarily. Jim couldn’t deny that was a huge disappointment. But he had to be there for Spock. “The Academy will always be there. I can continue when it’s time.”

“Are you…certain?”

Not at all, Jim thought, then tried desperately to hide that in case Spock picked up on it, but the vulnerable, broken look in Spock’s eyes made the decision for him, uncertain or not, despondent about it or not, it was the right thing.

“Of course I am. We’re in this together, Spock. All the way.”

Spock pulled him close then, wrapping his arms around Jim’s waist and holding him to him.

Jim put his hand on the crown of Spock’s head. He didn’t know anything about Vulcans, and really, very little about Spock, but Spock needed him, and that was something. For now, it would be enough.     


End file.
